Lois Lane, Star Reporter Chlois Chlark fic
by carcassi
Summary: A post Vessel fic with a Chlois twist. How would Chlois fit into the events after the Season 5 finale? Note: Lots of Chlark, so non Chlois Chlarkers may like this too! CONCLUSION is now up!
1. Chapter 1

**Lois Lane, Star Reporter**

**By Carcassi**

**A/N: **A while ago, I dared myself to write a short fic where Chloe and Lois switched names for a really simple reason, and without any character death. The result was Chapter One. :) Some people urged me to go on, and this fic was born.

Past Chapter One, it focuses less on Chlois and more on post-"Vessel" happenings (although there's plenty of Chlark, never fear!). So if any non-Chlois-ers happen to be reading this, feel free to skip to Chapter Two. :)

**Chapter One**

Chloe Sullivan peered suspiciously at her cousin's smiling face as she sipped her steaming latte.

"OK, Lois, I'll give. What's up?"

Her cousin threw her barista apron on the Talon's counter and joined her at the table. "What makes you think anything's up?" she asked brightly.

"You mean, besides the free latte with double shots of sweetness-and-light?" Chloe retorted dryly. "Level, Lois. Why'd you ask me to make a special trip to Smallville in the middle of the week?"

Under Chloe's sharp scrutiny, her cousin deflated a little and shrugged. "I thought you'd be happy to hear that I'm making a new start. I've just been accepted for Army Ranger training…."

"Hold on a minute," Chloe ordered sternly. "That's kind of a one-eighty for you, isn't it? I thought you wanted to get as far away as possible from your dad. And, where's Mrs. Kent going to find a new Chief of Staff?"

"Just about anyone she picks will have more experience than I do," Lois confessed, with uncharacteristic modesty. "In fact, I can name three people in her office right now who've forgotten more about politics and policy than I ever knew. Of course, none of them have my style," she continued cheerfully, "but, apart from that, any of them would do a great job. I've already recommended one of them to the Senator."

"But…."

"Chlo'," Lois leaned forward, her low voice suddenly serious. "I'm tired of drifting. It's time I stopped taking handouts, and started figuring out where I want to go in life."

"That's great. Really," Chloe said at last, hoping that her surprise didn't show in her face. "Your dad ought to be proud."

"There's just one thing. I need a favor."

Uh-oh, thought Chloe, suddenly on alert. Lois had already enjoyed more than her fair share of favors, but never before had she bothered to ask for one. That quavery, hopeful grin wasn't a good sign, either.

She raised an inquiring eyebrow, and listened to her cousin's explanation.

……………………

Two weeks later, Clark Kent walked into the basement offices of the _Daily Planet_ and did a double-take at the new nameplate perched on Chloe's desk.

Chloe smiled. "You know, you look sweet when you're totally confused."

He folded his arms and huffed. "Is this a joke?"

"Nope. Lois asked if she could use my name while she's in training at Fort Bragg. For once in her life, she told me, she wants to make it on her own, not because she's a General's daughter. How could I refuse?"

Clark picked up the small brass rectangle, on which the name "Lois Lane" was engraved in capital letters. "But why are you using _hers_?"

Chloe's eyes sparkled mischievously. "Fair's fair. She gets my name, I get hers. It's kinda fun to have the initials 'L.L.' for a little while."

"Don't worry, Clark," she added impatiently at her friend's disapproving frown. "It's just for a few weeks, then we'll switch back. And in the meantime…"

She paused to brush back a few stray strands of hair from her face. "In the meantime, I wonder how I'd look as a brunette?"

**TBC….**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Even though Chloe and Lois have switched names at this point, I'm still referring to (Ch)Lois as "Chloe" most of the time. I hope that's not too confusing! At this point, Chloe is just using Lois' name temporarily, so she still "thinks" of herself as Chloe.

In this chapter, the plot thickens as Chloe/Lois gets a new assignment from her editor….

**Chapter Two**

"Ms. Lane?"

The voice sounded very young and very hesitant. It took Chloe a second or two before she realized it was addressing her. Her eyes flicked up from her work and focused on the fresh-faced kid in jeans and pullover who toed the floor next to her desk, impatiently shifting his weight from foot to foot.

"Uh-yes?" Either high-school summer interns were getting younger, Chloe thought, or else she was getting older. Taking in the pint-size, freckled figure, she decided he couldn't be more than 14.

As if to confirm her opinion, the boy broke into an ear-to-ear grin that subtracted a few more years from her estimate. "I wasn't sure at first. Someone else said your name was Sullivan."

_Not for the next few weeks, _Chloe answered silently, sternly reminding herself to pay better attention. It had been almost a month since "Pfc. Chloe Sullivan" had started training at Fort Bragg; she really ought to be used to the temporary switch by now.

A lock of newly-brunette hair escaped from behind her ear, and her hand flew up automatically to tuck it back. The darkened shade hadn't been part of the deal with her cousin, but one look in the mirror, at the sophisticated, serious _reporter_ staring back at her, had been enough to convince her to keep it.

She smiled reassuringly. "No, you got it right. What can I do for you?"

"Ms. Kahn would like to see you upstairs in her office. Right now, she said."

It took all of Chloe's self-control to keep her jaw from dropping. "Pauline Kahn wants to see _me_? Did she…did she say why?"

"No, ma'am. I've gotta go back up to pick up some packages, so you can come with me if you want."

Chloe was still getting over the shock of being called "ma'am" when the intern ushered her into the corner office where the editor in chief of the _Daily Planet_ sat quietly, an island of calm amidst the chaotic rough-and-tumble in the surrounding newsrooms, bent intently over a small pile of papers, blue pencil at the ready.

"Please sit down." Without looking up, Kahn gestured vaguely toward a chair near her desk. Chloe forced herself to settle gingerly on the edge of the seat, nervously watching the editor scribble a few more notes on the pages, before she removed her pince-nez and trained sharp, appraising eyes on her guest.

"How much do you know about the Smallville meteorites?" The question came without preamble, in Kahn's famous dark-whiskey voice.

Chloe couldn't believe her ears. Whatever she'd expected to hear from her no-nonsense editor in chief, it hadn't been this.

"I did a series of stories about them, while I was editor of the _Torch_, my high school paper," Chloe replied, unable to hide the curiosity in her voice. "I'm a little surprised by your question, though. Last time we talked, I thought you considered this tabloid stuff?"

Kahn twitched an eyebrow. "Do I detect a whiff of resentment?" At the answering silence, she smiled. "Good for you. The truth is, you're right. Normally I would consider this "tabloid stuff"—if it hadn't been for an interesting tip I received today."

From the pile on her desk, she drew out a set of neatly clipped papers. "The Smallville connection is why you're here, Ms. Sullivan." She paused. "Or Ms. Lane. Whatever name you prefer. It's your story I care about, not your byline."

"So tell me," Chloe said, leaning in, "what's up?"

Kahn extricated a page from the clipped set and flipped it across to Chloe.

"From the _Smallville Ledger_, two months ago, just after the Big Blackout," she noted curtly. "What do you think?"

Chloe took a minute to scan the short article. "_Local Farmer Unearths 'Mystery Stone'. _HmmThis farmer claims his tractor broke down in a field, and some nearby rock started glowing and re-charged it somehow." She glanced up. "Has anyone looked at the tractor?"

Kahn nodded her approval. "My first thought. We only have the farmer's word; the reporter never checked it out. Keep reading, though."

Chloe's gaze returned to the news article. "According to this, he found it the same day the Big Blackout hit, when the riots began. Do you think there could be a connection?"

Kahn frowned, twirling her blue pencil thoughtfully. "Probably not. But he claims that his house never lost power during the entire crisis. That's what I find so interesting. Just a few weeks ago, the whole country was panicking in total darkness, while this guy not only had light and hot water, he had Internet access too."

Chloe's brow wrinkled as she concentrated on the article, her nervousness forgotten. "I don't see any follow-up. It doesn't look as though the reporter bothered to dig any deeper into this."

"Very sloppy work," her editor agreed. "I wouldn't have paid any attention to it, if it hadn't been for some information I received this morning from a contact in Cadmus Labs."

Chloe looked up from the story. "LuthorCorp's research division? What do they have to do with this?"

"Lex Luthor bought the rock from this farmer and had it shipped to Cadmus—more or less in secret. My contact tells me that they're looking for a way to unlock the power in that stone and store it." Kahn's level gaze fixed on Chloe. "Do you see where I'm going with this?"

"The Big Blackout," Chloe breathed. "If Lex—I mean LuthorCorp—could find a power source that immunizes the city from another crisis like that…."

"…he'd be hailed as a hero." Kahn finished the sentence darkly. "Call me a skeptic, but I'm inclined to think Luthor's got less altruistic plans up his sleeve. He's got political aspirations, doesn't he? Next year Mayor Welling is up for reelection."

Kahn folded her arms on the blotter and bent forward, her voice lowering. "There's a story here, Ms……Lane. Get it for me, and I promise you you'll have your first Page One byline. I've already set up an interview for you at Cadmus tomorrow with Luthor and his chief of R&D. She put down the pencil. "I told him to expect "Lois Lane," by the way."

"A Page One byline?" Chloe blinked back sudden, surprising tears, hardly daring to trust her voice. "I'll be there. Thank you, Ms. Kahn."

"You can thank me after you've finished this piece. Oh, and one more thing." The words halted Chloe in mid-rise, and she quickly settled back down into her chair.

Kahn reached for another page in the stack, casually flipping it in Chloe's direction. "Here's an enlargement of the photo that ran in the paper. Does it look like the meteorites you've seen before?"

The enlargement was fuzzy, but one glance was enough to make Chloe catch her breath. Carefully, she wiped her face of all expression.

"No," came the slow reply. "Meteorites are usually green, and they don't have a regular shape. This is clear, and small, and it looks like some sort of crystal needle."

In fact, she thought, it looked exactly like the crystals she'd seen in Jor-El's North Pole hideaway.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Enter Chlark! Also, this chapter fills in some of the events since "Vessel"—with a surprise twist at the end. :)

**Chapter Three**

"You're not going there without me."

Chloe shot an exasperated glance at Clark across her Met. U. dorm room before turning back to her laptop. "Did Zod's weird space-prison give you extra powers of super-stubbornness? You know you can't come tomorrow. It took all of Kahn's pull just to get Lex to agree to see me, and he specified _alone_—not even any photographers. Besides which, you're the _last_ person Lex would want to see after what happened to him back in May—even if he can't remember most of it."

A few months earlier Clark might have tried to press his argument, but now, she noticed, he merely conceded the point with a brief nod and hooded, thoughtful eyes. He had never talked much about what had happened to him during his brief time in that ghostly other-world, but since he'd returned he seemed older, quieter, and yet, somehow, more self-assured.

Chloe shot a sympathetic look at him from her perch on the bed, where she sat cross-legged in front of her computer keyboard. "It wasn't your fault, what happened to Lex," she began gently, but Clark shook his head.

"I don't blame myself anymore," he said slowly. "I made some wrong decisions, and so did Lex, but the person who's really responsible is Zod." He paused, sighing. "Anyway, he's back in his prison now, and Fine—or the ship, or whatever he really is—can't do much without Zod," he finished. His voice, Chloe thought, sounded more hopeful than optimistic.

Clark took a seat close behind her on the bed. As always, he radiated warmth, and she basked in it as her shoulder pressed against his chest.

"Thanks to you," he added softly, his breath tickling her ear. She tilted her head, meeting his deep green gaze, and he broke into one of those irresistible thousand-watt smiles that made her feel as though the ground was only a distant memory. She thought again of the last kiss they shared, that terrifying day in the Planet newsroom.

Remembering that day brought Chloe back to Earth with a thud. _You kissed him, not the other 'way round, _she reminded herself. _Don't confuse his friendship for something more_.

It didn't mean anything, she told herself, that he leaned into that kiss. Or that he held her close.

"Don't thank me," she replied lightly, resuming her typing. "I've told you before, it was Lionel who saved the day. I suppose he must've been channeling Jor-El, because he pulled those thugs off me like so many paper dolls. After that, he grabbed my hands and held them, and you just…appeared out of thin air."

Her hands stilled over the keyboard again, and she stared, unseeing, over the top of the computer monitor. "I remember there was a flash of light before you showed up," she said slowly. "but it seemed to come from far away. Funny, I never thought of that 'til now. Sometimes, when I try to think about that day too much, I get a lot of images jumbled together, and it's hard to separate what was real and what wasn't. This feels very real, though."

Her fingers sprang back into action over the keys. "That's all I can remember, really. I haven't seen Lionel since then, but after he woke up from his faint, he was so out of it that he asked me what year it was. Of course, with Lionel, you never know, do you?"

Clark shrugged, as if anxious to drop the subject, and peered over her shoulder to read as she typed. "If you're e-mailing Lois, could you tell her I said hi? The farm's a lot quieter since she left for boot camp."

"Sure, I'll be glad to give cousin Chloe your regards," she drawled, grinning. "By now she's probably kickboxed her way to a sergeant's stripes."

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Clark lift a hand to touch her hair softly. Her typing slowed, then stopped.

"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to your new look." He fingered a curl tickling the nape of her neck. "I kinda liked the old one." There was an awkward pause which Chloe deliberately left unfilled, and Clark dropped his hand. Gently clearing his throat, he asked, "Any more e-mails?"

"None from Lana, if that's what you're asking," she retorted a bit too sharply, mentally kicking herself as soon as the words left her mouth. Clark had barely mentioned Lana's name since the day of the riots, when they'd found her screaming in the streets. Why bring it up herself?

Maybe, Chloe mused ruefully, because she needed a reminder. Clark might spend all his free time now with her, but once Lana snapped her fingers, she knew he'd come running. It wouldn't do to forget that, especially now, when he sat so close, a solid, warm, reassuring presence at her back.

"I'm not interested in talking to Lana," came the quiet reply. "And she's definitely not interested in seeing me, not since we helped her get Lex out of the LuthorCorp building that day." His voice shook slightly. "He was in pretty bad shape, Chloe. Being Zod's "vessel" took too much out of him. Lana blames me for his breakdown."

"The hospital discharged him with a clean bill of health last month, though. And Lana has no idea what really happened to him."

"She knows enough," came the grim reply. "I wonder how much of it she's told Lex?"

For a moment Chloe didn't answer. "Clark," she began at last, "I know how much losing Lana to Lex hurts you. I know you'll always love her. I'm sorry there's nothing I can do to help."

"What are you talking about, Chloe?" She turned to meet his eyes, which were wide with surprise. "That's not what I meant…."

The laptop's electronic beep interrupted before he could finish. "It's a reply from the _Smallville Ledger_ to the e-mail I sent," she said, scrolling down the message. "I asked the reporter who covered the "crystal" story if he had any more information."

It only took a minute for her to finish, shaking her head in disappointment. "Not much there. Just a couple extra photos. That's too bad, I was hoping for a little extra background before I go interview the farmer tomorrow."

"You're going to Smallville? Don't you have summer classes?"

"This is more important right now. Besides, it's just for a day. I'm going as soon as this Cadmus interview is over."

He shot her a sideways glance. "Will you have time to stop over my place for dinner? Mom's on another trip, but she left at least a month's worth of food in the 'fridge, wrapped and labeled. I could use some help eating it all…and I'd appreciate the company."

Chloe already was shaking her head. "No, I can't stay that long. I'm on deadline with this, and I want to do a good job."

"There's more to life than a byline, Chloe—I mean, _Lois_," he corrected, smiling. "C'mon. "If you're worried about time, I can run you over there and back."

Chloe was still considering the offer when her cellphone jangled. She flipped it open without looking, clicking on the e-mail photos of the farmer posing with his crystal.

"Hi, who's…..Lex?" She felt Clark's body stiffen next to her. "How'd you get this number? Oh, Lana, of course. By the way," she continued in a pleasantly polite tone, "thanks for picking up Lana's share of this dorm. There's no way I could've found another roomie for the summer at the last minute like that, when she packed her bags to move into your penthouse."

Across town, and several dozen floors higher, Lex gazed coldly over the city as evening fell, the twinkling skyline laid out at his feet through the floor-to-ceiling windows of his Metropolis office. In his free hand, he held a glass half-filled with Scotch. The collar of his finely tailored lavender shirt was unbuttoned, his tie slung over a chair.

"Don't mention it," he answered curtly. "I understand I can expect a visit from a Ms. Lois Lane tomorrow at Cadmus. I'm assuming that's you. Your cousin looks far more comfortable with a gun in her hand than a pen."

He listened briefly, then continued, "Actually, the interview is the reason I'm calling. I'm afraid there's a slight problem. By the way, is Clark there….No, don't put him on the line. I'd rather not talk to him right now. Just tell him this, will you?"

When he spoke again, Lex's voice had hardened into ice. "I'd like him to come with you tomorrow. Because I'm looking forward to hearing his explanation of how a thief could break into a top-secret lab, through three levels of security and a reinforced steel vault, without so much as tripping an alarm. Yes, that's right, Ms. _Lane,_ the crystal was stolen tonight."

A soft, urgent murmur sounded in his ear. "Clark's as shocked as you are? That's very interesting, but not especially convincing, I'm afraid. Given the fact that the missing crystal resembles only one other thing I've ever seen. And that was the hilt of the dagger that Clark held to my throat in his barn, two months ago."

The line fell silent. "You didn't think I remembered, did you? Or you were hoping I didn't? Tomorrow, at Cadmus. Be there."

Without waiting for a reply, Lex shut off his phone and continued to stare at the city skyline, his mouth set in tight, angry lines. Then, wordlessly, he flung his glass of Scotch at the window and watched it shatter.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** This chapter features a Chlark-Lex face-off. And a familiar character joins the cast…. :)

**Chapter Four**

Three floors below street level, a guard wearing a "Cadmus Labs" security badge pressed an intercom button.

"Lois Lane and Clark Kent to see you, Mr. Luthor."

There was a loud buzz, and the thick steel door in front of them clicked open. "You can go through," the guard said, "Straight down the hall to the end. Move slowly, please, and no quick motions; the scanners on this level are set to sound an alarm at any suspect movement, and they're pretty sensitive."

Clark and Chloe, each wearing matching visitor ID passes on their jacket lapels, looked at each other, and Chloe whistled softly. "He's built quite an impressive web, hasn't he?" She cast a nervous eye on the small security camera set in the hall ceiling, and moved forward cautiously. "Ready to say hello to the spider?" Clark, his mouth set in a grim line, nodded and followed close behind.

A door at the other end of the carpeted corridor slid open at their approach, revealing a small, plainly furnished, windowless room that, apart from Clark and Chloe, appeared to be deserted. Chloe scanned the polished wooden table in the center of the space for any papers or other information of interest, but it was bare except for a notepad, a computer monitor, a keyboard, and a large glass dome covering a metallic stand. The stand was empty.

"This must be where the crystal was kept," she observed, touching the dome. Almost by instinct, she reached into her purse for her digital camera.

"Hello, Ms. Lane." Soft as it was, the voice made Chloe jump. Lex had appeared in the doorway wearing a dark-gray business suit, hands folded in front of him. His eyes flicked toward the little silver camera. "I thought I specified, no photos?"

Clark edged forward, slightly in front of Chloe, and Lex's lips quirked upwards in a cold, amused smile. "No need for heroics, Clark. I promise you, I'm not armed. Not," he added, gray eyes glittering, "that it would matter if I was."

Chloe stiffened. Clark had told her about his super-powered fight with Lex in the Kent barn, two months ago. Obviously, Lex remembered it. She searched his face, wondering what else he might know, and noticed the deep lines etched across his forehead, and the dark circles under his eyes. His possession by Zod seemed to have taken years from him. Whatever secrets Lex had discovered, she decided, had come at a high price.

Echoing her thoughts, Clark asked, "How much do you remember, Lex? Please. It could be important. You could be in danger."

His former friend's chuckle had a bitter edge. "I'll make a deal with you, Clark. You tell me how you acquired powers so similar to the ones I was given by that ship, and I'll tell you what you want to know. No, wait—I'll settle for less. Just explain to me how you knew what was going to happen to me. Or why I don't have those powers anymore." He tilted his head inquisitively. "Well?"

The room was perfectly silent for a full minute as the two men locked eyes wordlessly. Lex's lips curled into a smirk. "Stalemate, Clark. You want the truth? Join the club."

Clark continued to gaze steadily into Lex's impassive face. "I didn't take the crystal," he said at last, gently.

The billionaire's brows rose in mock amazement. "Really? Well, that's that, I suppose. Because you've been so honest with me up to now."

Ignoring the sarcasm, Clark asked, "Why did you want to see me?"

"To tell you this." Lex rested his hands on the table and leaned across it, facing Clark. "I want that crystal returned, now. If I'm right, it could be a source of unlimited power for this city."

"Not to mention unlimited power for yourself." Chloe interjected.

Lex glared at her briefly, then continued. "Whatever private game you're playing, I won't let it stand in my way. Do you understand?"

Clark shook his head. "Lex. You're playing with fire. Even if I had the crystal—and I don't—we don't know what it could do. It might be dangerous."

Lex's smooth tone was edged with daggers. "I want it returned. By tomorrow. Otherwise," his smile twisted unpleasantly, "I'll have to find something else for Cadmus' R&D staff to do, won't I? Meteorite ore is a fascinating material, well worth further study."

Clark regarded him calmly. "That's not much of a threat," he commented. "You've been studying that ore for years."

"But I never had quite the same amount of motivation before, did I? Amazing, what a dagger to the throat can do to inspire scientific curiosity."

He watched narrowly as Clark lowered his gaze. "Or are you going to deny that too?" he whispered, his voice hoarse with bottled rage. Clark's face flushed, and when he raised his head, his green eyes flashed angrily.

The air between the two former friends seemed to crackle with electricity. Alarmed, Chloe hastily spoke, cutting off Clark's reply. "We want to find the crystal too, Lex. Do you have any information that might help us?"

After a long moment, the billionaire straightened, sighed, and rubbed his forehead, as if in pain. "Very well. We'll play it your way. I believe in keeping up appearances, after all."

They watched as Lex opened the room's only file cabinet, and began riffling through a drawer. Finally he extracted a thin manila folder and tossed it on the table. "Here's what we discovered so far about the crystal. Try to act surprised."

Chloe opened the folder and spread out the sparse pages. "It's mostly pictures. Didn't you do any tests on the crystal? You had it here for at least two or three weeks."

Lex's glance held grudging approval. "Still trying to get a story here, I see. Well, you're welcome to one—provided the crystal is returned. Until then, all this is confidential. Understood?"

Reluctantly, Chloe nodded, and Lex continued, "Good. Now then—yes, we did do several series of tests. Unfortunately, as you'll see when you read the lab results, the crystal has been dormant since we purchased it from the farmer. We haven't been able to find out much through MRI or spectroscopy, either. And, as I'm sure you know, it's impossible to slice off any part of it to examine….."

Chloe lost track of what he was saying as she examined photos of the clear crystal, shot from several angles. Oddly, she felt as though she'd seen it before.

In her mind's eye, the crystal seemed to grow until it filled her field of vision, and within it she glimpsed images of a large room, a skyscraper, cows grazing in a grassy pasture, a small ship crashing into a cornfield—and, finally, a vast city of ice rising from a shining white plain under a red sun. The visions flashed through her mind, too fast and bright to make out clearly, ending in a blinding burst.

She gasped, and the room fell silent. When she looked up, both Lex and Clark were staring at her. Clark put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong?"

She blinked a few times. "Nothing."

Lex eyed her skeptically.

Chloe forced herself to straighten and smile back. Clark kept a protective arm around her shoulders and levelled his gaze on Lex.

"We'll do what we can, Lex."

………………

The young billionaire stood ramrod straight and watched with grim attention as the door slid shut behind his guests. But as soon as their footsteps faded, his shoulders sagged, and he sank into a chair, resting his head in his hands with a heavy sigh.

Across the table, unseen by Lex, the desktop computer system began to shimmer. Within seconds, it blurred into a vaguely human shape, finally resolving into what appeared to be a lean, sharp-featured man in a dark, tailored business suit.

"Well done, Vessel," the construct remarked, smiling coldly. Lex jumped from his seat and faced the figure.

"Professor Fine," he breathed, wide-eyed. "I thought you disappeared with—that other. What are you doing here now?"

The manlike being actually bowed. "Doing homage to the once and future vessel of General Zod."

"That's not me," Lex replied, edging away towards the door. Fine's smile grew wider.

"Oh, but I disagree." He grinned as Lex pushed the door's controls. The door stayed shut. "You are the perfect host for the General. As you are, now, the perfect host for me."

"That's not possible!" Wide-eyed terror showed from Lex's eyes.

Fine regarded his quarry almost fondly. "Of course it is. You admitted me a long time ago, when Kal-El threw the dagger at me in the barn. When this crystal awakened, for reasons I still do not understand, it was able to force the General from your body—but I remain. I can control you whenever I wish."

He watched Lex strain to force open the door. "Please don't trouble yourself," he said helpfully. "It's quite useless."

Fine's smile disappeared and his tone became brisk. "I see you removed the crystal before the reporter arrived, as I ordered. Where have you taken it?" Lex closed his lips and shook his head resolutely.

The construct frowned. "I will ask only one more time. Where have you hidden the crystal, Vessel?"

"In the most secure location," came out of Lex's mouth, his eyes widening in surprise. "In Level 33.1."

Fine smiled again. "Good. It would not do for either Kal-El or his companion to find it, before the proper time." He stared musingly at the pictures, which were still spread out on the table where Chloe had left them. "I find his companion's reaction to these pictures rather interesting. Clearly she merits attention. She may have some connection to this piece of Jor-El's handiwork."

His cool gaze returned to Lex, who stood motionless, as if frozen. "In the meantime, you will forget all you have heard, and await orders." The construct watched Lex grit his teeth and struggle to speak, without success. Slowly, Lex's features settled into blankness.

Fine's grin displayed too many teeth. "Truth is overrated, human. This is truth. How do you like it?"


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I think that Clark and Chloe have earned a little R & R, don't you? g In this chapter, they get more than they expect. :)

**Chapter Five**

A few hours later, at her desk in the _Planet_'s basement, Chloe replaced her phone on its cradle with a soft groan and rested her head in her hands. "I am so dead."

The young gofer who had taken her to Kahn's office the day before sidled over. "What's wrong, Ms. Lane?"

Chloe looked up at the sympathetic, freckled face, and managed a weak smile. "Just a call from a very unhappy editor-in-chief. Nothing to worry about—unless I plan on staying at the _Planet_ after this week."

The kid's eyes widened. "Oh, wow, that's harsh." He added shyly, "Can I get you some coffee or something?"

She was about to accept gratefully when a caffeine-scented aroma wafted past her nose. Following the scent, she turned her head to see Clark approaching with two steaming Starbucks cups. The boy backed away fast and melted into a file-stacked corner.

"Is that a new admirer?" Clark grinned, handing her the bigger cup. She gathered it into both hands, inhaling the steam. It revived her spirits, as always. "Yeah, he's my new boyfriend," she shot back with an answering grin. "Jealous?"

"Always." Something in the tone of his voice made her look up sharply. There was the briefest flash of emerald in those smiling eyes, gone almost as soon as she saw it.

"So, what's new today? Has Littleman been around to see you?"

Chloe tilted an eyebrow. "If you mean 'Bittleman,' no. Which is too bad. I know you don't like him, but he's a nice guy. You're not my big brother, Clark, quit being so over-protective."

"No," came the soft response. "I'm not your brother, Chloe."

Preoccupied with her recent phone conversation, Chloe ignored the reply. She sipped her hot coffee gingerly and set the cup down on her desk blotter. "Anyway, it looks as though I won't be here much longer to see Bittleman or anyone else. Kahn just gave me a royal smackdown over the phone."

His eyes widened. "Oh, wow, that's…"

"Clark Kent," she glared, interrupting. "If you say, 'That's harsh,' I will throw this coffee right in your face. Not that it would do any good, but it would make me feel a lot better."

He put a very large, very warm hand on her shoulder, and she fought the temptation to lean into it. "I'm sorry, Chlo'," he murmured gently. "What happened?"

"Kahn said she was really disappointed in me. She said—quote—'No reporter ever got famous by agreeing to keep the news _confidential,_'" Chloe mimicked, capturing Kahn's sarcastic tone almost perfectly. She closed her eyes, but it didn't keep a tear from leaking out. "I never should have agreed to keep Lex's interview private. It's the only story I have, and now I've got nothing to print."

She felt Clark's fingers squeeze her shoulder lightly. "This is a switch," he remarked. "Aren't you usually the cheery one? I'm not sure I can handle this role reversal, but I'll do my best." Turning her toward him, he tilted her chin up and, with his free hand, brushed the tear from her cheek. "Sun coming out yet?" he murmured, with a smile.

She attempted a small smile, which grew wider in response to Clark's delighted grin. "I've still got an interview scheduled with the farmer—his name is Schneider—in Smallville today. Maybe I can get something from him."

"Schneider? You mean old Bo? He and Dad were friends for years. He owns some land near our place."

Chloe raised a curious eyebrow. "I've never heard you mention him."

Was that a hint of a blush rising on Clark's cheeks? This was beginning to get interesting, she thought. "Pete and I used to pick huckleberries on his property back in grade school," he confessed, shamefaced. "He caught us once, and ran us off, yelling that we'd better never come back or he'd set his dogs on us. We never did."

She bit back a giggle. "So, Mr. Kent, your deepest secret finally comes out." She flashed him a twinkling, sideways glance. "Funny, I never thought of you as the huckleberry type. You're more of an apple-pie man, I would've said."

Her friend straightened his six-foot-plus frame, looming over her desk. "There _are_ still a few things you might not know about me," he announced with mock injured dignity. "I'm full of surprises."

"Well," she said, checking her watch, "you can make up for your former life of crime by giving me a lift to Smallville." She looked up hopefully. "An express trip, Kent style? I'm running a little late."

Clark's face lit up. "Let's go out back," he said, extending a hand to help her to her feet. "The alley should be pretty empty this time of day."

As soon as they exited the building, Clark scooped her up so smoothly and quickly that she scarcely felt it. She settled comfortably into his cradling arms, breathing in aromas of fresh cotton mixed with the sharp scent of cut grass. Tucking her head under his shoulder and clutching the folds of his plaid shirt, she gave him a brief nod, and they took off.

She'd experienced Clark's unique way of traveling once before, but she'd been too numb from the cold in Jor-El's Arctic fortress to remember much about it. This time, alert and unafraid, she rested against the reassuring bulk of Clark's broad chest and watched the world melt away around them. It seemed to Chloe that, for a few precious seconds, they were standing still in their own private universe, wrapped in a cocoon of warm silence. The only sense of motion came from the wind, which whipped her hair into a dark froth while endless images fast-forwarded by.

It was over almost before it began. Too soon, they slowed down—or "reappeared," Chloe thought—in front of the Kent farm. She drew a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. "Wow."

A golden retriever came bounding out of the barn, tail beating wildly in greeting.

"Hey, Shelby," Clark called out, then began striding toward the front door.

"Uh, Clark?"

"Yup?"

"You can put me down anytime now. I'll be OK."

Clark reddened as he looked down at her. "Oh, um, sorry. I forgot." Hastily he set her down, as lightly as if she were made of porcelain, and steadied her until she regained her balance.

His large hands lingered on her arms a few seconds more than necessary, sending warm shivers through Chloe's body. She gulped. "I'd better get that interview now. Can I use your truck?"

"Yeah, sure. I'd offer to go with you, but…."

"….huckleberries, I know," she finished, grinning.

"No! I just have a few things to do around here, that's all," he protested, digging the keys out of his pocket. "Good luck—and Chloe?"

She had already tossed the pack with her laptop and notepad into the cab of the dusty blue Ford, and was climbing into the driver's seat. "Hmmm?"

"If you need anything, just call. And I don't mean with the phone."

She returned his earnest green gaze blankly for a second, then realization set in.

Clark could hear her, wherever she was. No matter how quiet her voice, or how loud the surroundings. Once, she remembered, he'd even picked out her voice in the middle of a wild sorority Halloween bash. Oddly, it didn't seem to work with anyone else. She wondered why.

"What's wrong with using a phone?" she asked him.

He shrugged, but his gaze remained steady. "Nothing, I guess. But I like listening for your voice. It makes me feel that we're connected."

"Oh," she answered, sternly controlling her emotions. _Lana's the one he loves_, she reminded herself. "OK."

Farmer Schneider turned out to be a paunchy, gregarious man, his few remaining wisps of sandy hair carefully combed across his sun-reddened scalp. He gave Chloe a hearty welcome but had little new information to share. His tractor broke down in a field, he explained, just as he'd told the other reporter; a stray rock started glowing, and soon the tractor was good as new. He brought the rock home the day of the Big Blackout, and, miraculously, his house was the only one in Smallville never to lose power.

Chloe munched on a homemade doughnut, sipped fresh-brewed coffee, and considered his answers.

"So this crystal shone with a clear light? No green color, like the other rocks? OK. Was the stone still glowing when you sold it to LuthorCorp?"

Listening to her own question, she bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. Only in Smallville, she thought, did glowing stones come in an assortment of rainbow colors.

Schneider, however, took the question seriously. "Nah," he answered in a disappointed voice. "Stopped shining right after the day of the Blackout, in fact. But it was the weirdest thing I ever did see, I tell you that. Makes me wonder what else might be sitting out there in my fields. Damn' meteors—'scuse me, Miss."

"No problem," she smiled back. "Speaking of fields, where exactly _did_ you find this stone, Mr. Schneider?"

She listened to his answer, scribbling a few notes. Then, after inspecting his tractor and finding nothing remarkable, she turned to leave, thanking him for his time and the doughnuts.

Just before she climbed into the truck, a sudden wicked impulse made her stop. Grinning, she called back to him, "By the way, Clark Kent wanted you to know he's sorry about those huckleberries."

The farmer chuckled. "I noticed you're driving the Kent truck," he remarked. "Your boyfriend, is he? Well, tell him no hard feelings." A broad, knowing smile spread across the cheery face. "In fact, if I remember right, there are plenty of berries out right now in that field you're interested in. Help yourselves, kids. Have a good time."

A few minutes later she was pointing the truck back toward the Kent Farm. "Clark," she murmured softly. "I know you can hear me. Just follow my voice." The wicked grin returned. "I want you to help me pick some huckleberries."

………………

They really needed to start searching the field soon, Chloe told herself, as she finished her seventh handful of juicy dark berries, eagerly licking the remnants off fingers stained inky blue. The sun was getting low, and they hadn't gotten farther than the huckleberry bushes. But she'd never imagined fruit could taste so good.

She and Clark had spent the last half-hour happily picking their way through a tangle of the bushes, sampling from each one as they wandered up and down the sunny slope on the edge of Farmer Schneider's pasture. A narrow, winding creek at the bottom of the hill shimmered like a silver ribbon in the late afternoon sunshine.

Chloe wiped drops of juice from her hands and peered at the darkening sky worriedly. "Clark!"

When there was no answer, she scanned the slope, finally catching a flash of plaid in the middle of the biggest thicket, near the banks of the creek. A jeans-clad figure was half-submerged in a mass of berry-laden branches, obviously too absorbed to pay attention to anything else.

Sighing, Chloe plucked a large, green berry and took careful aim. The hard little orb bounced off the figure's backside, and Clark's head popped up out of the top of the bush, setting off a cascade of cracking branches and scattered leaves.

"Hey! I nearly spilled my whole bucket!" he protested, while Chloe laughed.

"From all that blue juice around your mouth, I'd say that most of those berries didn't make it to the bucket," she observed dryly. "I guess aliens are addicted to huckleberries. Who knew?"

Clark shot her a look while he hastily dusted himself off. Meanwhile, Chloe threaded her way down the slope towards Clark, stopping at the creek's edge.

"It's getting late, and we still need to look over this field," she noted. "And," she added, a little too innocently, "_you_ look like you need some help getting cleaned up."

Swiftly, she bent down, thrust her hands in the cold, clear running water, and sent a glittering shower over Clark, who yelped in surprise.

"Big baby," she giggled, "You don't even feel the cold."

Clark shook off, sending drops of water and stray leaves flying everywhere. Then he narrowed his eyes at Chloe dangerously.

She took a step back. "Uh-oh," she muttered, as her former victim approached slowly, like a lion stalking his lunch.

Her desperate backwards scramble was interrupted when her heel struck against a large rock. Panicked, she grabbed at the air as her feet slipped out from under her, tipping her over towards the sharp rocks in the creek bed.

Before she had time to scream, strong arms caught her, holding her securely, high over the ground. "Sorry," Clark apologized mildly, the glint in his green eyes replaced with concern. "Are you alright?"

She nodded shakily, managing a weak laugh. "I guess that'll teach me not to start interplanetary water battles."

Her laughter died as she peered up to see that Clark's expression had changed. His gaze locked on hers, giving her a sudden, dizzying sense that she was losing her balance all over again. Slowly, his face dipped closer, and she felt his warm, coffee-scented breath on her cheek.

Hesitantly, Chloe laced her arms around his neck, drawing him down further, until, in a movement as natural as breathing, their lips met softly. He tasted like berry juice. Chloe deepened the kiss.

Chloe decided she loved huckleberries.

Finally, after what seemed like a too-short eternity, Chloe pushed away, breathing hard. _Lana_, she reminded herself again. _He loves Lana._

"I think we'd better start searching the field." Even to her own ears, Chloe's voice sounded harsh. She didn't dare look at Clark.

At once he gently set her on her feet, and she began marching up the hill.

"Chlo'," she heard him calling from behind, "we need to talk."

"Later, OK?" Chloe yelled without turning back. She reached the top of the hill and stepped out into open pasture, wading into tall grasses silhouetted by the late-afternoon sunshine.

She knew it was pointless to try to get away from Clark, but right now she didn't care. Ignoring all her hard-won knowledge about cow patties and other pasture hazards, she ran far out into the field, all the while scanning for anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing was visible except seemingly endless grassland, dotted here and there with rocks and more bushes. But as she wandered deeper into the meadow, she had an uneasy sense of déjà vu, which grew stronger as she continued forward. She stopped at last at a place where tire tracks had flattened a path through the grass.

With a start, she realized where and when she'd seen this place before. It was that very morning, at Cadmus Labs, looking at the photos Lex had handed her. This hadn't been in any photo, though; she'd seen it in her mind, one of the many images that had blended together as she stared at those pictures of the missing crystal.

Almost directly in front of her, where the tire tracks ended, a jagged hole gaped in the ground. She realized immediately that this must be where the farmer found his glowing rock. And she'd run straight to it, without any conscious idea of where it was located.

_It's as if I have some sort of connection to this crystal,_ Chloe mused. _But why?_

As if triggered by that realization, the stream of images came flooding back, orders of magnitude brighter and stronger than before. They dominated her waking eyesight, crowding her brain to the point of overload. Moaning in pain, Chloe tried to block the bombardment, but failed.

Once again, she could make out only a few: A strange room; the LuthorCorp skyscraper; the pasture she was standing in; a small ship exploding into a shower of glittering green rocks; the same ship crashing in a cornfield; and an ice-white city reflecting the red of a strange sun.

Just as the images seemed to go dark, she saw a small, spinning ball of fire burning in blackness. As she watched in horrified fascination, the ball grew into a bloated mass of red flames before it shrank, gathering into itself. Then, in one deafening release of energy, the ball burst apart, filling her mind with endless waves of searing flame.

The last thing Chloe remembered hearing before she lost consciousness was the sound of her own screams.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Clark and Chloe discover a few disturbing facts about the elusive crystal. At the same time, they make another surprising discovery that isn't disturbing at all…. g

**Chapter Six**

A soft breeze tickled her cheek, and Chloe blinked to clear her vision, ignoring the throbbing pain behind her eyes. Clark swam into view, bare-chested, clad only in a pair of jeans, bending over her against a backdrop of blue sky.

She blinked again. Clark was still there, the golden skin of his well-muscled chest tinged red by the slanting rays of sunshine. Lines of concern etched across his face as he stared down at her.

In spite of her headache, she almost smiled up at him. The sight of a semi-naked Clark was more than enough to wake her up.

She tried to remember where she was. Jumbled memories of blueberries, a sunlit pasture, and a kiss whirled through her head in kaleidoscopic confusion, only to melt into stranger, darker visions of flameballs and explosions. The throbbing sensation grew worse.

She groaned and shut her eyes, letting her head drop back against the ground, but the impact was cushioned by a pile of some very soft material. Cracking open her eyelids, she caught a flash of plaid, and a whiff of fresh cotton, and realized her pillow was Clark's shirt. The familiar feel of it was somehow comforting. As she rubbed her cheek against it, she felt her jumbled memories fall back into place like so many jigsaw pieces.

"Chloe? What happened? How do you feel?"

The worry in Clark's voice drew her eyes upward, past the jeans-clad knees and the acres of bare skin, to meet his steady gaze. She grinned weakly and propped herself up on her elbows, looking around at the forest of tall grasses encircling them.

"Fine, except for the Anvil Chorus going on in my head," she answered dryly. Almost to herself, she muttered, "And the surprise magical mystery tour I went on."

"Are you sure you're OK?" He frowned, studying her closely with a familiar squint.

"Hey!" she protested. "No X-raying!"

She scrambled to her feet with Clark's help, and—regretfully—handed back his shirt. Turning, Chloe pointed to the gouged earth close by, near the tractor's tire marks.

"That's where the farmer found the crystal," she declared confidently.

At her words, Clark paused, one arm thrust into his shirt. "How can you be so sure?" he asked skeptically.

"I don't know. But I am. I don't know why I'm seeing things, either." Despite the warmth of the afternoon, she shivered slightly. Clark's arm encircled her reassuringly, and too weak for once to resist, she allowed herself to lean into it.

"Seeing things?" he murmured softly, gathering her closer.

She nodded, her head resting against his shoulder. "The first time was this morning, when I looked at Lex's photos and zoned out," she told him. "It was like watching a movie on fast-forward, except none of it made any sense. And it ended with a bang. Literally." A ragged laugh escaped her throat. "Just now, it happened again, only stronger this time."

Her voice dropped so low that even she could barely hear it. "Why am I going all "Medium" twice in one day? What's happening to me?"

For a minute he lightly stroked her arm in thoughtful silence. When he finally spoke, his voice was grim. "I can't answer that, but I'll bet I know who can." He dropped his arm to take Chloe's hand. "Come on, we need to get you a warm coat. You can tell me more about this on the way."

"On the way where?" She hurried to follow as he marched across the pasture towards the Kent's truck.

His answer sent a fresh shiver down her spine. "To talk to Jor-El."

……………………

It was late evening, but since it was July, the Arctic sun was still high when they appeared in front of the vast crystalline dreamscape that was Jor-El's icy fortress. The clear, jagged spikes of the vaulted ceiling glimmered eerily above them, rising up to impossible heights.

The sheer size of the place had overwhelmed Chloe the first time she'd seen it. Even now, on her third trip, she still looked up in wonder as Clark led her through the entrance. The soaring columns reminded her of the redwood forest she'd walked through once as a little girl, when, craning her neck to try to catch a glimpse of the tree-tops far overhead, she'd exclaimed in delight to her father.

She still remembered what she'd said: _Giants must live here._

She felt the same way now.

Dressed in Martha Kent's thickest wool coat and fur-trimmed boots, she followed Clark apprehensively as they crossed the gleaming floor towards a cluster of crystals that had grown together into something like a podium. Clark, on the other hand, still wore the same thin plaid shirt he'd worn in the pasture that afternoon, a smudge of huckleberry juice clinging to his cheek. Looking at him made Chloe feel nostalgic for the sunlight and warmth of Smallville.

Oddly, though, she noticed that, in spite of his farm clothes, Clark seemed as much at home here, in this gigantic, echoing hall, as he did on the Kent farm. His step was confident as he advanced closer to the central podium.

It began to glow softly as they approached, and Chloe jumped at the disembodied voice that suddenly echoed through the hall. Clark immediately stepped in front of her, putting himself between her and the podium.

"_Welcome, Kal-El."_ There was a pause. _"Welcome also to your companion, the Keeper of the Element."_

"Clark?" Chloe whispered uncertainly. "Is he talking about _me_?"

"What do you mean, Jor-El?" Clark demanded cautiously. As always when talking with the AI created by his Kryptonian father, he was on his guard.

_"Your companion has nothing to fear from me,"_ came the calm reply. _"Indeed, I have chosen her for a great honor."_

"I don't like the sound of this," Chloe muttered. "What's this 'Element,' and why am I its 'Keeper'?"

To the amazement of both of them, Jor-El's voice responded to her question. _"The Element was intended to be the last, and most powerful, part of this fortress, my child. It was placed within Kal-El's ship, and when he destroyed the ship, it was lost. But, with your help, I was able to locate it and use it to open a portal into the phantom dimension, freeing Kal-El and returning General Zod's consciousness to its rightful imprisonment."_

Clark's eyes widened. "You made Chloe help you somehow? Why? Why didn't you just use this thing yourself, if it's so powerful?"

Close beside him, Chloe stared thoughtfully into space. "When Lionel grabbed my hands, the day of the riots, I saw a bright light that seemed to come from far away," she mused. "So that's what it was."

_"I cannot access the energy stored in this crystal, my son, until it rests inside this structure"_—at these words, a clear, slender cylinder rose up from the console—_"It can only be used by you, or by the Keeper."_

Clark drew an angry breath. "The missing crystal is the Element, isn't it? And you've turned Chloe into this thing's Keeper! That's why she's having these visions."

Before Clark could continue, Chloe interjected quickly, "Jor-El, can you tell me what the visions mean? I seem to see the same things each time."

_"Because you are connected with the Element, you see, in part, where it is now, and where it has been in the past."_

"So that strange lab must be where the crystal is now?" She frowned. "But I don't understand why the LuthorCorp skyscraper keeps popping up too. This thing was at Cadmus, not at Lex's corporate offices."

Other images re-formed in Chloe's memory. "There was a white city," she said slowly, eyes shut, "and then a red sun. It exploded, and that's the last thing I saw."

_"You have seen Krypton, and the city where Kal-El was born. And you have seen its destruction,"_ came the calm reply. Clark stared in wonder at Chloe, then looked back at the podium, his face darkening.

The voice started saying something else, but Clark clearly had had enough. He interrupted, shouting, his hands balled into fists, "You have no right to use Chloe like this. Free her now!"

The AI's voice floated down, sounding almost gentle. _"That is not possible, Kal-El. She has bonded with the crystal, and the bonding cannot be undone. Nor can her bonding to you."_

"Now wait just a—Huh?" Chloe stopped, stunned. She darted a quick sideways glance at Clark, who looked equally taken aback.

_"The Element was made by your mother and me." _ The voice echoed sadly through the hall. _ "In it, we placed all our memories of Krypton. These are a part of who you are, my son—as they are, now, also a part of her. On our home world, the sharing of such memories was done as a pledge between life-mates."_

Chloe caught her breath, and stood very still, listening.

The AI took on a commanding tone. _"You are the last survivor of the House of El, and as such, you bear a great responsibility to see that our line continues. You must take a suitable mate—unlike the one whom you foolishly brought here before." _ Chloe could almost hear the disapproving sniff underneath the words as the AI dismissed Clark's proposal to Lana. _"I have seen this human battle with Zod's servant. She has strength and spirit, and also an acceptable level of intelligence."_

_"So I have chosen. And, as I have said, the choice cannot be unmade."_

Chloe was still scowling at the phrase "acceptable level of intelligence," when she felt a light touch on her hand. Clark's eyes were filled with regret.

"I'm so sorry, Chlo'," he said apologetically. "But don't worry, I won't let him trap you like this. I'll find a way to get you free."

Suddenly, Chloe was looking everywhere except at Clark. "Yeah. I know it must be hard for you, too. It doesn't sound like Jor-El has much use for Lana."

"What does Lana have to do with this?" The honest confusion in his voice surprised Chloe into meeting his gaze.

Clark's eyes locked with hers. "I'm sorry because it's my fault you're stuck. Because I think Jor-El figured out that I love you."

The AI was speaking, but Chloe was too busy staring at Clark to notice. In fact, she had almost forgotten that the AI was there at all. "Are you serious?" she asked, after a moment's silence. "You really love me? Not Lana?" In response, Clark drew her tightly against him, large hands pressed against the warm wool of her coat. When she tilted her head invitingly, he bent down and kissed her, hard.

If the entire fortress had collapsed around them just then, Chloe didn't think she would care. She felt as if she were floating.

After the kiss finally ended, she still felt oddly weightless and looked down to see that they were standing at least a foot over gleaming floor. "Clark!" she yelped, clutching him even more tightly. He smiled back, shrugging a little, and kissed her again.

_"Love is an irrational emotion, and completely unnecessary for a successful bonding,"_ Jor-El's voice was declaring, as Clark gently guided the two of them back to the ground. _"However,"_ it observed, with the merest hint of smugness, _"it is sometimes possible to find both."_

Clark, still holding Chloe tightly, frowned as he looked at the podium. "But, Jor-El, what about the crystal? You said it's powerful, but it's still missing."

_"True. It is imperative to find it as soon as possible. Now that it has been activated, it must be set in its proper place. It is the keystone of your power, Kal-El, and with it, this fortress will become virtually indestructible."_

"And without it?" Chloe asked.

"_Without it, neither the fortress nor the Element will survive for long. Apart, they are unstable—as is this AI." _Clark nodded, and Chloe guessed his thoughts. That, she reflected, might explain some of Jor-El's stranger mood-swings.

"_The Element has been programmed to self-destruct, to keep it from the hands of Zod and his allies." _The gleaming columns around them seemed to darken to match the somber tone of the voice. _"In that case,"_ it went on slowly, _"the Keeper also will be destroyed."_

Chloe heard Clark's sharp intake of breath. She reached out for his hand.

_"I sense that Zod's servant may be involved in this. Be wary. You especially must take great care, my child." _Chloe realized, with a start, that the AI was addressing her.

"_Kal-El's destiny is now bound with yours. Remember this. The fate of your world may depend on it."_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I'm happy to say that this chapter puts the final nail in the coffin of Clana-related angst. :) And there's a Chlark loft scene too!

**Chapter Seven**

The trip back from the caves was silent, but, thanks to Clark's speed, it was over in less than a second. Once inside the Kent farm's kitchen, Chloe gratefully shed her heavy coat and boots, pulled off her sweater, and tugged to straighten her tight-fitting red blouse.

"From one continent to another and back again in one night. I feel as though I've got whiplash," she commented with forced cheerfulness, noting the worried wrinkle on Clark's brow as he stowed away her winter gear in the hall closet. "Did all Kryptonians use these little octagonal keys for instant travel, or is this something Jor-El came up with?"

Clark, returning to the kitchen, responded with a shrug. "I'd be a lot happier right now if I'd never heard of those keys, Krypton, or Jor-El," he remarked glumly. "All it's brought me is trouble, and now I've gotten you involved."

She was already shaking her head before he finished. "Don't regret learning about your heritage, and don't apologize for something you didn't do." She eyed him severely. "That's a bad habit I thought you'd gotten over. Anyway, _I'm _not sorry that my destiny's bound with yours, even if there's a, um, slight catch to it." Chloe looked up at Clark's troubled face, and added, anxiously, "Are you?"

At once his expression cleared. Taking her hand in both of his, he answered firmly, "No. But it didn't take Jor-El to bind our destinies together." He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead, one hand trailing up her arm and under the fluttery short sleeve of her blouse. "They've been linked for a long time now. Even if it took a trip to another dimension for me to realize it."

Even the warmth of Clark's touch, which sent fresh tingles down her spine, couldn't stop Chloe from noticing that this was the first time Clark had mentioned his otherworldly imprisonment. "What do you mean?" Her voice was a cautious whisper. "What happened to you in there?"

The silence dragged on for so long that Chloe began to give up any hope of hearing an answer. Risking a glance upward, she saw that Clark was staring into the distance, his eyes shadowy. Despite the torrid summer evening, Chloe felt a chill.

"I'm not sure there are words to describe it," he said bleakly, gazing past her at a blank kitchen wall. Whatever he was looking at, Chloe was profoundly grateful that she couldn't see it.

"I felt as if I were—_outside_—existence. I knew I was alive, but I felt as if I had no body. I don't remember touching the ground, or moving, although I tried once to go towards some misty shapes I saw nearby." He gulped. "It was like being stuck in the middle of a thick fog; everything around me was gray and out of focus. The only thing I could really see clearly, was Earth."

Chloe's brows shot up at that. Clark, still caught up in his memories, didn't notice. "That was the worst part," he admitted sadly. "I could watch the riots, see everything that monster was doing to the planet, and there was nothing I could do to help." His voice cracked; the anguish in it wrung Chloe's heart.

"And I felt completely alone."

Clark's gaze re-focused on her with sudden intensity. "I know you said I wasn't in there long, but it seemed like ages to me," he told her. "I had plenty of time to think of all the people I might never see again—Mom, you, Lana, Pete—but after a while, as much as I missed them, they all faded away. All but one."

He gathered her closer to him. "All but you."

"I thought about how much you mean to me. No matter how focused I was on Lana, you were always the one I relied on for support. When I told you my secret, Chlo', it wasn't because I had to; it was because I _wanted_ to. I realized that I'd never felt that way about Lana. And the amazing thing is, now that you know everything about me, you're OK with it. You trust me, almost as much as I trust you."

"That's when it finally dawned on me," he explained, a smile creeping into his voice, "that of everyone I loved, you were the only person I couldn't live without."

His strong arms wrapped around her tightly, and, pressed against his chest, Chloe felt the last remnants of the spectral image of Lana Lang flicker and dissolve away. Too happy to speak, she buried her head in his shirt.

But, before she could take things further, a low, loud sound interrupted her.

Clark's stomach was rumbling.

The wide-eyed embarrassment on Clark's face was so comical that Chloe giggled. "I forgot that super-aliens have super-appetites," she murmured, looking up coyly. "Of all kinds."

It wasn't until his blush deepened from rosy to beet-red that she finally relented and gave him an affectionate peck on the cheek.

"Come to think of it, I'm starving too. It's nearly nine o'clock, and we skipped dinner in favor of an unscheduled trip to the Arctic. What's in the 'fridge?"

Clark stuck his head inside the refrigerator door and rummaged. "Mom left plenty before she took off for that state educational summit. Hmmm. How about this?"

He emerged carrying a Tupperware bowl, peeling off the top to reveal chunks of chicken and vegetables suspended in a thick, golden sauce. "Chicken and dumplings," he announced, viewing the bowl hungrily. "My favorite."

"Sounds good," Chloe grinned back, as Clark ladled out two generous portions onto plates and squinted thoughtfully at one of them. Fragrant aromas of chicken stock and onion began to rise as the dish heated up. "Nothing like discussing the fate of the world over a heaping dish of dumplings. Not to mention my fate at the _Daily Planet_, now that I have no story to write for Kahn. From what Jor-El told us, it's pretty clear the crystal's off-limits as a news item."

Clark rolled his eyes before warming up the second plate. "I'd say the world is a little more important than the _Planet,_" he intoned a bit stuffily, and winced when Chloe choked back a laugh. "Well," he added defensively, "you know what I mean."

"Yeah. But the _Planet_ _is_ my world, Clark." She watched in surprise as Clark carried both plates toward the door. "Hey, where are you going with dinner?"

He called back, already halfway to the barn. "Come with me to the loft. I've got a surprise for you."

Pausing just long enough to grab two cans of soda, she hurried through the darkness until she caught up with him at the barn door. Inside, moonlight cast long shadows across the straw-covered floor.

Instead of hitting the nearby lightswitch, Clark whispered, "Wait here," and blurred up the steps to his old hideaway. A second later, the loft was bathed in golden, flickering light. "OK, you can come up now."

Curiously, she mounted the stairs. A faint, sweet smell drifted toward her, which Chloe mistook at first for the scent of freshly baled hay. As she reached the top, though, the soft light of candles revealed bright bunches of color adorning the low table which faced the huge open loft doors. Outside, the full moon was rising.

"Daisies! And poppies, and—are those cornflowers?" Chloe stared in wonder at the cheerful blooms winking at her in the candlelight. "You've been busy."

"I hoped we could have dinner here after you finished your interview with Bo," Clark said, setting the platters of stew on the table. "Better late than never, I guess." His smile twisted apologetically. "Although this isn't quite the romantic evening I'd planned."

"It's the thought that counts. Anyway, all this makes it easier to talk about impending doom."

Chloe knelt in front of the table and speared a chunk of chicken with her fork. "So the crystal is set to self-destruct, and me with it," she remarked almost conversationally. "I wish Jor-El had been a little more specific. How long do we have? Who stole the crystal from Lex last night, and why? And, most important of all, where is it now?"

Clark sank down next to her, crossing his long legs and picking up his plate. "Jor-El said that 'Zod's servant' might be involved. That means Professor Fine, or whatever form he's wearing now."

"Fine's definitely Suspect Number One," Chloe agreed. "On a very short list. I can think of lots of people who might want this thing, from crazy rock collectors on up to the military. But not many of them could've broken through Lex's security, except maybe the CIA. And somehow," she added, forehead wrinkling, "I don't think it's the CIA."

Clark put down his dinner and leaned closer, studying her in the moonlight. "You're remembering something, aren't you?"

"The LuthorCorp building," she said. "It keeps popping up in my head, like a jack in the box. First, I see a room—it looks like a lab, with microscopes and stuff—and then that skyscraper, with the LuthorCorp logo on it. After that, I get just a glimpse of a vault—I think it's the one at Cadmus—and then there's the farmer's pasture, and your ship exploding, and…."

Chloe froze, gripping Clark's arm so hard that he jumped. "The vault at Cadmus. I never saw it clearly before. And it comes _after_ the LuthorCorp building," she whispered excitedly. "Clark, I think I might know where the stone is hidden."

With a sense of triumph, she turned to meet Clark's puzzled gaze. "Don't you see? The visions are in reverse order!"

The confusion in those green eyes only deepened. Sighing, Chloe backed up. "Jor-El told us I could see where the crystal was now, _and_ where it had been. It's pretty clear that the lab is where it is now. And the rest of the visions always come in reverse order, timewise—they start with the later stuff and end with the beginning, if that makes any sense."

By the wrinkle creasing Clark's brow, she could tell that she needed to try another explanation. "In my visions, one of the last things I always see is a Kryptonian city. Before that, I see a ship landing in a cornfield. Before that, your ship blowing up into a million green pieces. Before _that_, I see the farmer's field." She looked over at Clark. "Are you picking up a pattern here?"

He nodded slowly. "A reverse timeline. Like watching a movie play backward. But how does that help us find out where this lab is?"

"Until now, it didn't," she remarked, standing up to stretch. She moved nearer to the opening in the loft and gazed thoughtfully at the field of stars above them. "I wondered why I kept seeing the LuthorCorp tower, but I figured that maybe the crystal had been kept there before it was sent to Cadmus."

"Well, that's possible, isn't it?" Clark asked.

She shook her head so forcefully that her dark hair flew across her face. "No! Because _I see it first._ So the stone was at LuthorCorp _after_ it was at Cadmus. Which means, after it was stolen. And that means the lab in my vision must be at LuthorCorp, too."

"What are you saying, Chloe?" He joined her at the edge of the open door. "That Lex stole this thing from _himself_?"

"It sounds pretty silly, doesn't it?" she mused. "Especially considering how angry he was this morning. Lex has his Oscar-winning moments, but I don't think that was an act."

"None of this makes sense." Wrapping an arm around her, he continued to stare into the darkness, biting his lip thoughtfully. "Professor Fine is the only one who could possibly know how important this crystal is. Jor-El said it was the keystone of the fortress. Maybe Fine is hiding it at LuthorCorp, for some reason."

"Should we warn Lex about Fine?" Chloe darted an inquiring glance in Clark's direction.

He frowned, as if pondering the question. "He wouldn't believe us. And if he did, we don't know what he'd do. I don't think he'd join forces with Fine again, but how can we be sure? Too much is at stake." He sighed. "I hate putting Lex in danger, but it's too risky."

Something clattered onto the ground below them, followed by silence. Both of them froze at the sound.

"Who's out there?" Clark shouted, but there was no response. He peered into the gloom, then straightened in surprise.

"Lana?"

Slowly, hesitantly, a slender figure appeared in the patch of moonlight directly below the loft doors. Since she'd begun dating Lex, Lana Lang had traded little-girl pink for big-city black and, Chloe thought, the change suited her. It was also, Chloe noted, extremely useful for unannounced night-time visits. If it hadn't been for Clark's keen vision, Lana would have blended perfectly into the shadows.

"What are you doing here?" Clark asked.

Lana's eyes glinted in the moon's beams. "You never returned my horse's saddle," she answered coldly, gesturing towards the heap of leather that lay near her feet. "Lex and I are going riding tomorrow, and I want to use Tyson's own equipment."

"You came over here this late at night just to get a saddle? I would've driven it over to the mansion if you'd asked me."

She dismissed Clark's question with a shrug. "I don't need any favors from you. If it were up to you, Lex would be dead."

"Lana, I…." Clark sighed. "I guess it's useless trying to change your mind."

While he spoke, Lana was glancing from Clark to Chloe. Her lips curved upwards knowingly.

"Hi, Chloe," she greeted her former roommate softly. "Or is it Lois now? Lex told me about your interview today." Her dark eyes darted between the two of them again. "I see you didn't waste any time after I broke up with Clark."

Clark, muttering something under his breath that sounded dangerously like swearing, started for the stairs. Luckily, he slowed to normal speed just before emerging from the barn. Chloe followed, her mouth set in a grim line.

Yesterday, Lana had the power to hurt her. No longer.

"Nice to see you too, Lana." She returned calmly as she joined Clark. "Speaking of not wasting time, how are you and Lex doing?"

Lana's small mouth twisted in anger, but, before she could answer, Clark broke in, his voice quiet. "The truth is, Lana, I broke up with you. And I think that was best for both of us."

Moving almost (but not quite) too fast, Clark picked up Tyson's saddle and stirrups, and loaded them into the back of Lana's red Jeep.

"Tell Lex that, um, Lois, and I say 'hi.'"

Lana stared at Clark in disbelief. "Is that all you have to say to me?" she demanded, fixing him with an injured look.

Clark returned it impassively. "Yes," he said shortly. "Good night, Lana."

Wordlessly, she turned and climbed into her Jeep. They watched as it churned dust on its way to the main road.

Chloe raised an eyebrow and turned to Clark. "Doesn't Lex have, like, 20 horses in that stable of his? And about 200 saddles?"

Clark smiled wryly. "At least. I wonder why she really came here?"

"We don't know how much she heard. You could follow her."

He shook his head. "The most she'll do is warn Lex. And Lex deserves to be warned." His voice saddened. "He deserves a chance."

Chloe regarded him gravely, then surprised herself by yawning. "I hate to say this, but I need to get back to Metropolis tonight. I've got to be at the Planet early, to salvage my career as an obituary writer. Then we can brainstorm a way to get that crystal."

Her arms circled his neck, and she tilted her head to smile up at her boyfriend. No, Chloe corrected herself. At her life-mate.

"I'll trade you," she said cheerfully. "You get double portions of chicken and dumplings, and I get an express ride home."

Clark grinned.

……………………

A single lamp cast shadows across the chessboard as Lex moved his queen into position. He looked up from his seat in the mansion's den at the sound of approaching feet.

"Hello, Lana," he remarked mildly. "Your king's in danger of check-mate."

"You're the one in danger, Lex." She perched on his chair and draped an arm around his shoulders. "You were right to send me out to the Kent farm."

Lex patted her hand, but his glance was steel-sharp. "Well?"

Resentment showed clearly in Lana's dark eyes. "It sounds like they know a lot about your stolen crystal," she spat out. "They think Professor Fine is hiding it somewhere in the LuthorCorp tower. And I heard Clark say that the crystal's really important. He called it the 'keystone' to something….a fortress, I think."

The billionaire nodded, studying the chessboard. "And?"

"Clark said you could be in danger, but it would be too risky to warn you."

Lex responded tonelessly. "Of course."

Lana's eyes narrowed slightly. "What's wrong with you, Lex? You don't sound very surprised to hear any of this."

"On the contrary," her boyfriend answered briskly. "This is valuable information, and I'm very grateful to you for your help."

Rising, he kissed her cheek gently. "Now, please excuse me. I need some time to think about this." Ignoring her vague sounds of protest, he escorted her quickly to the door and shut it after her.

Behind him, a figure emerged from the shadows in the corner of the room. "Most interesting information indeed," said Fine, approvingly. "It was an excellent suggestion to use the girl, Vessel."

Lex turned to face the artificial being, his face expressionless. "I don't want her harmed." A flicker of regret showed in his eyes.

Fine studied him with clinical detachment. "Fascinating! You're actually fighting me, aren't you, human? I have to confess, you show much more spirit than I had expected."

The flicker in Lex's eyes grew brighter, as if he were exerting some intense effort. His lips began to move. "Free me….We can help each other….."

"Why?" Fine asked, with honest curiosity.

The halting words continued. Beads of sweat appeared on Lex's forehead. "I want revenge….on Clark. I want my powers back."

The alien construct peered at him thoughtfully, considering the request. "What you want doesn't concern me. However…." he sighed, "it _is_ tiresome to struggle against you constantly. You may damage your body, rendering it useless for Zod."

He nodded pleasantly in Lex's direction. At once, the billionaire's face cleared, although it was still deathly pale.

Lex blinked his eyes and turned to face the artificial being. "As I told you," he remarked, his voice shaking only slightly, "it's mutually profitable for us to work together. I hope I can trust you not to try to control me again."

Fine watched him closely as he crossed over to the bar and poured two fingers of single-malt into a glass. "I could use this," he murmured. "Care to join me in a Scotch?" His lips quirked upward. "Come to think of it, I guess not."

Fine ignored the invitation. "If I can trust _you_ to fulfill your destiny as the vessel of General Zod, you'll remain free. For now."

Lex downed the contents of the glass and poured another, taking a deep breath. Unseen by Fine, the knuckles on the hand clenching his glass were white. "Please," he scoffed, with an easy grin. "You're offering me a chance to join forces with a power that will rule the world. As unavoidable fates go, that's not so bad. I've come to terms with it."

Fine nodded and turned away, staring thoughtfully out the window. Lex's gaze darkened against Fine's back, but his smile slipped back into place quickly when the professor whirled around to face him.

"So Kal-El says this crystal is the Keystone of the Fortress," Fine mused.

Lex shot him a look. "'Kal-El'?" he asked sharply. "You mean Clark?"

The manlike construct returned his stare calmly. "Of course."

Lex's eyes held an unreadable expression. "Of course," he echoed, raising the Scotch to his lips.

"If the crystal is in fact the Keystone," Fine continued, "then it is also the key to Kal-El's destruction. We must act quickly. If we succeed, we may eliminate all our enemies in a single stroke."

Lex's glass stopped moving. "Destruction?" he whispered. Fine didn't answer. "I see."

There was a pause. "Here's to the destruction of our enemies," Lex murmured at last, taking another sip. When he lowered his hand, the glass was shaking.

**TBC….**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **In this chapter, Chloe's introduced to a very special LuthorCorp facility. (Hint: We've heard the name mentioned on _Smallville_, but no one's ever shown it. Until now. g)

**Chapter Eight**

Chloe curled her fingers lovingly around the receiver of her desktop phone as she and Clark made plans for the rest of the day.

His voice was apologetic. "I'm stuck here at the farm this morning, at least for a little while. The paddock fence broke and I have to repair it, um, slowly. It's too close to the main road. But I'll be there as soon as I can, OK?"

Her answer was interrupted by the insistent beeping of the office printer, caused by a _Planet_ staffer who was frantically jabbing its buttons in an effort to get it to work. Chloe grimaced, waiting for the ear-piercing racket to stop. "Sure. I've got piles of obits and wedding notices to edit, and one of the senior reporters wants some background "color" research on the history of City Hall out of our files in the morgue. I'll be busy, trust me."

"Researching musty old paper records? Why not just Google it?" Clark asked. "At least it sounds like an easy morning for you."

Chloe sighed, remembering the long, tedious hours she'd spent online and in the library investigating for Clark. If he ever decided to go into journalism, she resolved to see to it that his editor gave him plenty of back-room research jobs. It was time he learned to appreciate how much work it was.

"Very funny. Not," she retorted dryly, enjoying the sudden picture of Clark's huge frame hunched over an overstuffed file drawer, riffling through yellowed, crumbling piles of newsprint.

"Oh, c'mon. How hard could it be?" At his indulgent chuckle, she smiled sweetly. Make that _several_ file drawers of yellowed, crumbling newsprint.

"Seriously, though, Chlo'," he went on, changing tone, "I'm actually happy to hear you'll be staying at the _Planet_'s offices this morning. I think you'll be safer there. After what we talked about last night, I was afraid you'd take off for LuthorCorp first thing."

"As if Lex would even talk to me," she scoffed. "By now Lana's told him everything she overheard."

There was, she thought with a twinge of guilt, no need to tell him that she'd put a call in to Lex's secretary requesting an interview an hour ago. After all, she knew she'd never get a response.

"Speaking of Lana," Clark replied, "something about last night bothers me. Something that doesn't add up."

A loud crash next to Chloe's desk nearly made her drop the phone. Glancing toward the printer, she saw that the stack of heavy boxes next to it had somehow collapsed, spilling packs of printer paper onto the floor. Behind the pile stood the young intern.

"Sorry, Ms. Lane," he mumbled. "I was in a hurry." Starting to pick up the scattered packages, he added, over his shoulder, "Ms. Kahn said she wanted to see you."

"Uh-oh," Chloe groaned to Clark over the phone. "I was hoping she'd at least give me until this afternoon before chewing me out. Guess I'd better go put my head in the lion's mouth. See you soon."

She set the receiver back on its cradle almost gingerly and got up to leave, reaching for her notepad, but paused as her phone buzzed again. Impatiently, she checked caller ID, then did a double-take.

"LuthorCorp?" Before she had time to recover from her surprise, she'd already grabbed the receiver. "Lois Lane, _Daily Planet_."

"Good morning, Ms. Lane. I hear you'd like an interview." Hearing Lex's smooth greeting, Chloe fought a surge of excitement. Coming just before what was certain to be an unpleasant session with her editor, this was almost too much good luck.

Almost…..maybe it _was_ too much good luck. Something wasn't right about this.

"Lex?" she asked. "I mean…Mr. Luthor. Why the change of heart? Yesterday you insisted we keep everything secret."

"Call it a 'thank you' for the warning I received last night, concerning Professor Fine." He paused. "Even if I did hear it, shall we say, second-hand. It's good to know that you at least thought about telling me I could be in danger."

Nothing in his tone had changed, but for some reason Chloe felt herself blushing furiously. "Lex, it's only a suspicion. When we met with you yesterday at Cadmus, we honestly didn't even think…."

"I understand. No hard feelings, I assure you. Besides which, I'm intrigued by your theory on the whereabouts of my crystal. I'd be interested in hearing more."

So that was it, she thought. Lana must have overheard Chloe mention that Fine might be hiding the crystal at LuthorCorp.

"I get it. You're dangling this interview as a carrot? To get me to tell you more."

"Put it any way you like, Lois. I'm still offering an interview. Take it or leave it."

Chloe considered this briefly. Even if she couldn't print the truth about Jor-El's crystal, she reflected, information about Cadmus Labs was fair game.

Aloud, she answered, "I'll take it—as long as you're willing to talk on the record about _all_ your research at Cadmus. That's _my_ offer, Lex."

Lex's laughter actually sounded genuine. "I see you've just expanded the scope of our interview. Always the intrepid reporter, aren't you? It's nice to know that some things never change. Alright, yes. I agree."

"There's only one condition, though," he added, as if it were an afterthought. "This time I want you to come alone."

"Why?" she asked, puzzled. "If this isn't confidential, why do you care?"

"I have my reasons. Again—take it or leave it, Lois."

Chloe chewed her lip thoughtfully and pushed aside her misgivings. As reluctant as she was to agree, her job depended on this. "All right. See you at LuthorCorp."

She wondered if she should call Clark, then shook her head regretfully. Clark, she realized uneasily, would tell her this was a bad idea, and she knew he'd be right. But she couldn't let him try to talk her out of going.

Instead, Chloe scribbled something rapidly on her notepad, then scanned the newsroom until she located the young gofer, who was rolling a mail cart between the rows of desks. At her wave, he abandoned the cart and ran across to her desk.

She smiled up at his freckled face. "Would you do me a favor? Please tell Ms. Kahn I've got an interview with Lex Luthor right now, but I'll see her as soon as I get back, OK?"

He nodded. "Oh," she added, "and if Clark Kent drops by, I left him a note on my desk telling him about the interview. Would you give it to him, if you're around?"

The kid glanced at the message. "Sure. No problem."

Chloe, dropping her digital camera into her purse, grinned her thanks at him as she rushed out the door. The boy watched her leave, then looked down again at the note.

……………………

Nothing screamed "Worship me!" quite so loudly as Lionel Luthor's masterpiece, the immense marble-and-glass lobby of LuthorCorp Tower, Chloe thought looking around her.

But, as she took in the vast shining expanse, decorated with gardens, Chinese sculpture, and waterfalls, she felt none of the awe she'd experienced in Jor-El's icy fortress. This oversized space, however impressive, wasn't a place made by giants; it was just a large room, made by a human who wished he was a giant. And now it was owned by his son.

"Is Lex Luthor in?" she asked the security guard, leaning across the polished surface of the black-marble reception console to flash her press pass. "Lois Lane of the _Daily Planet_. I have an appointment."

The bored guard barely glanced at her before scrolling down a list of names on the screen set into the desk surface. "You're a few minutes early, Ms. Lane. Let me call up…."

"That won't be necessary," a familiar voice cut in smoothly, and the guard's sleepy eyes snapped wide open. Whirling around, Chloe saw the head of LuthorCorp himself striding towards her, his long black coat billowing out in his wake like the wings of some large bird of prey. As he approached, he extended a hand and greeted her in a mild voice. "Welcome to my headquarters, Lois. It's your first visit here, isn't it?"

His attitude radiated sincerity, which instantly put Chloe on her guard. From what she'd seen, the Luthor family had bred "sincerity" out of their collective DNA well before the time Lionel was born.

"Lex," she returned cordially, shaking the offered hand. "I appreciate your time."

He smiled, shrugging slightly, but Chloe noticed that his lips were pressed together tightly, and that his jaw seemed tense. "As I've repeatedly assured your editor, LuthorCorp is always happy to make time for the press."

Lex gestured towards a shadowed passage leading off the main lobby, apart from the main bank of elevators. "Please."

Pushing aside her misgivings, she followed him around a corner past another security guard, to a small alcove where a single elevator waited. Lex hit the button, and the doors slid open.

Chloe eyed the guard appraisingly. "I'll say one thing: Your offices here are definitely a lot more secure than your mansion in Smallville."

He shot her a look. "For good reason. As you're about to see." Still smiling, he waved her into the small car. She noticed that the sole button on the elevator's control panel was, strangely, unmarked.

To her surprise, instead of pushing the button, Lex slid a small badge from his coat pocket and pressed it against the control panel. Flashing red numbers raced across a screen which had, seemingly, appeared out of nowhere. A mechanized voice from concealed speakers made Chloe jump.

"Voice recognition. Password?"

"Lex Luthor, password 'Julian,'" Lex intoned.

"Voice ID complete," droned the tinny voice, and the flashing numbers swirled from red to green, reshaping into a single set of digits:

"33.1"

Chloe eyed the display nervously. "Isn't this a little over the top, Lex? Even for you?"

The cool gray stare from her companion did nothing to reassure her. Sounding almost regretful, he replied, "It's necessary, I'm afraid." His gaze held hers. "I wish you weren't involved in this. Please believe that."

Chloe fought back the beginnings of panic. "Lex, what's going on?"

He looked away as the doors slid open. "You're interested in that crystal, aren't you? I'm taking you to it, Lois."

The revelation that Lex was involved in the theft of the crystal left her speechless. Fearfully, she glanced beyond the doors. What she saw made her gasp in stunned disbelief.

Outside the elevator, a central hall soared to impossible heights, ringed with multiple galleries, each one at least a full story tall. Banks of escalators silently ran between each of the levels. Here and there, men and women in white lab coats appeared out of doorways and rode up or down to another gallery. The lighting was soft, indirect, and completely artificial; there were no windows.

"What is this place?" she breathed, as Lex led her out of the elevator into the main hall. Tilting her head back, she squinted into the darkness, looking for some sign of a ceiling, but the galleries seemed to stretch up forever.

Lex's voice held a touch of pride. "Welcome to Level 33.1, my newest research facility," he remarked. "And congratulations. You're one of the few outsiders to visit us."

"But how," Chloe gulped and tried again, "_How_…."

"When I took over LuthorCorp, I made a few special modifications to the Tower," he said, answering her unspoken question. "Let's just say that all of this appears, from the outside, to be nothing more exceptional than any of the other 81 floors in this building."

"Hasn't anyone noticed that, like, like…_ten_ floors are missing from your building?" she stammered.

"Fifteen. But they're not missing, Lois. There are actually two public elevators with these floors marked as "LuthorCorp Administrative Services" and "Luthor General Insurance Division." Of course, they're both rather—inactive—groups, but if anyone should be curious enough to visit them, all they have to do is push the appropriate floor, and they'll be taken to a very convincing-looking suite of offices." He smiled faintly. "Also, those two elevators seem to be under repair quite often."

"Uh-huh," Chloe said, still staring upward, wishing she could think of something better to say. Unlike the lobby, thirty-three (or more?) floors below, this hidden city was awe-inspiring. For sheer impressiveness, it didn't quite measure up to the ice palace built by Clark's biological father, but, Chloe had to admit, it came close.

She followed Lex further out onto the plushly carpeted floor of the main hall. Tall mahogany bookcases lined the high walls on one side; the other was dominated by a gigantic video display, in front of which milled a few more white-coated staffers. In between, a set of wood-paneled doors stood firmly shut.

As she stared at the video display, her eyes widened further at the ten-foot close-up of a small girl piecing together a jigsaw at a table in a bare white room. Next to her, on screen, sat an older woman, who was smiling and nodding approval. A cluster of staffers seated at a nearby console studied the display and made notes.

Chloe's mouth dropped open again. "That's _Emily Dinsmore_!" she exclaimed.

Lex glanced at the display. "Emily Dinsmore version 3.0, if I'm not mistaken," he corrected casually. He turned to Chloe, who had, by now, managed to regain her self-control. "My father's initial research was very promising. I didn't want it to go to waste. And, since then, as you can see," he continued, his eyes sweeping the hall, "I've built on it considerably."

She regarded Lex with horror. "You're doing secret research on clones?"

He shrugged. "Among other things. This facility is dedicated to exploring human capabilities in every way possible."

A slim man about Chloe's age detached himself from the group in front of the display and sauntered towards them. She gave a little start of recognition.

"Mikhail Mxyz……whatever."

"Mxyzptlk, my dear," he corrected in thickly accented English. "Long time, no see."

Chloe bristled. "Not long enough. Last time we met, you were holding a knife to my throat. That is, before your arrest." She scanned the hall. "So you traded one kind of jail for another."

He burst out laughing. "'Jail?' Not exactly." He turned to Lex. "Molly Griggs was looking for you. I'm going to the gym for a while. Oh, and…." he added, leering at Chloe, "thanks, Lex, for hiring the new barista. She's very, _very_ good. And her coffee's OK, too." He glided off towards an escalator.

Chloe took a deep breath. "OK, Lex. You said you were taking me to see the crystal. Where is it? And why on Earth did you fake a robbery?"

In the soft light, it was hard to see his shadowed face. "You'll find out soon enough. In the meantime, feel free to walk around. I'll be right back." Without waiting for a reply, he strode to the double doors, disappearing quickly as they closed after him.

A quick check of the elevator behind her confirmed what she already suspected; the "Down" button was disabled. In spite of her growing misgivings, she reached instinctively for her camera and began clicking in every direction.

A lighted alcove to one side of the double doors caught her eye. Moving closer, she saw that it contained a bronze bust of a strikingly handsome woman with flowing hair. Underneath, on a matching bronze plaque, an inscription read: "This facility is dedicated to the memory of LILLIAN LUTHOR. 1956-1992. In hope that others like her may be saved."

She was adjusting her camera settings when the double doors swung open. Focusing on the sculpture, she barely heard them.

"Ms. Lane?" It wasn't Lex's voice. Chloe snapped her picture, looked up, and froze.

Professor Fine—or the artificial construct that called itself Professor Fine—loomed over her, a small smirk on his face. Lex stood behind him, hands folded, eyes down.

"It's time we had a little talk, don't you think?"

**TBC….**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** _Finally_, an update! Sorry it's taken this long :( My apologies and thanks to you guys for hanging in there, and I hope you enjoy :D

This chapter's mostly Chloe-Lex-Brainiac, but it's got some major build-up to the final chapters. And don't worry, those will be 100 percent Chlark!

**Chapter Nine**

Professor Fine's eyes sliced through Chloe with the clinical precision of a scientist dissecting a particularly interesting lab specimen. She clutched her camera tightly to hide the trembling in her hands, and lifted her chin defiantly.

"Well, if it isn't Professor Gadget." Her greeting sounded eerily normal, considering that her throat felt bone-dry and her world had just come crashing down. Meanwhile, staffers in white lab coats brushed past them on their way to other parts of Level 33.1, barely glancing at Fine, Lex, and their new prisoner.

"I've been looking forward to meeting you again," the construct remarked, "ever since our first encounter in Jor-El's Fortress."

Chloe glanced briefly over Fine's shoulder at Lex, who was listening to this exchange with a puzzled frown. Apparently, she thought, Zod's robot hadn't seen fit to fill Lex in on everything.

In spite of the menacing form towering over her, she smiled, remembering the evening she and Clark had shared by the fire after their battle with the alien machine. She'd been warmed by a blanket, a crackling fire, and most of all by Clark's soft voice: "_Professor Fine said that human beings were insignificant and couldn't be depended on. He obviously didn't know you very well."_ Chloe hugged those words to her tightly, thinking longingly of Clark's strong arms.

She turned back to face the construct. "If you remember that, you also remember that Clark and I defeated you."

Fine's face darkened. "Unfortunately for you, Kal-El isn't here now. And, besides—" he continued, sounding almost smug, "—I personally consider it poetic justice that the human who once helped prevent Zod's escape from his prison, will now be the instrument of his release."

"What do you mean?" she asked cautiously.

His smirk matched his tone, making Chloe wish that Zod hadn't bothered to program emotions into his robot. She didn't doubt that the General himself had the same charming personality.

"By linking you to the Element, the keystone of the Fortress, Jor-El has given me the perfect weapon to use against his creation," he replied. "Through you, I can unlock the power within that crystal, destroy the Fortress, and welcome the General back to rule this world."

Somehow, she realized, Fine must have found out about her connection to the crystal. Her heart sank, but she decided to give brazen denial a shot. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Did Lana tell you this? Isn't it a step down for you to rely so much on a mere _human_?"

He dismissed the question with cold amusement. "I didn't need to rely on her. I have many sources."

Bad as this news was, Chloe reflected, there was one bright spot. Apparently the robot didn't suspect that Jor-El had programmed the Element to self-destruct.

A grim idea occurred to her. Would it be possible to command the crystal to speed up the process?

Given the fact that she'd be destroyed along with the crystal, it wasn't the most tempting option, but she had to admit that the list of better ones was shrinking. She hoped she would be brave enough to try it, if need be.

Aloud, she asked, "What if I refuse to do what you want?"

The arrogant smile appeared again. "I anticipated that. In that case, part of my construct is waiting elsewhere in this facility for orders to kill every staff member here."

The thing, in the shape of a man, leered down at her with an air of supreme self-satisfaction. Chloe shuddered inwardly, remembering that the man who had programmed this monster was the would-be future ruler of Earth.

"NO!"

Lex, who up to now had been looking on impassively, leveled a furnace-hot glare at the construct. "Leave my people out of this. Besides," he growled, eyes narrowing to slits, "what proof is there that you could even carry out that threat? I think you're bluffing."

Fine met his eyes calmly. "Try me."

Chloe's eyes slid away from the construct and focused curiously on Clark's former friend. "What's going on here, Lex? You two don't exactly look like buddies."

"I suspect our host is having second thoughts about his destiny as Zod's Vessel," Fine commented, almost genially. "Unfortunately, it's too late for that—isn't it?"

Lex returned the gaze stonily, a slow flush of anger spreading across his pale features.

"I see," Chloe said almost sympathetically. "You're as much a prisoner as I am, aren't you, Lex? I'm sorry."

Lex didn't answer, but Chloe caught a defiant flash in his eyes, gone almost as soon as it came. With an almost visible effort, he settled his face into its usual masklike composure.

"I advise you to cooperate willingly," he told Chloe, in the same cool voice she'd heard him use at press conferences. "If you do, I can promise that you'll be in no danger, and I'll do everything I can to make you comfortable in this facility."

She shook her head. "C'mon, Lex. Face it. Whatever plot you were hatching has backfired on you this time. And even if it hadn't," she added scornfully, "a promise like that doesn't mean much, coming from a guy who's just sold out the entire human race."

Lex's head jerked up, eyes blazing with cold fire. "I didn't have a choice, Lois. And, speaking of selling out, what's _your_ excuse?"

"What do you mean?" she demanded, puzzled.

The steel-blue gaze didn't falter. "How long have you known that Clark is an alien?"

She caught her breath, mentally kicking herself for not anticipating this. "Clark's no threat," she retorted. "He's nothing like Zod and his robot buddy here. You of all people should know that."

Lex's eyes glittered. "Really? I'm having trouble remembering past the night in the barn when he put that dagger to my throat."

"But he didn't hurt you, did he? He _couldn't_."

The billionaire's face hardened. "Tell me something. Did _you_ have a choice?"

She tilted her head, not sure what Lex was getting at. "Excuse me?"

"When you were linked, or bonded, or connected, to this crystal. Did Clark ask you first? Did you volunteer?" At her sudden hesitation, his lips curled into a knowing smile. "I guess not."

"It's not what you think," she answered, remembering how it had felt to kiss Clark in the Fortress, and leave the earth behind for a while. "Not at all." She met those sad gray eyes and felt, again, a pang of sympathy. "I trust him, Lex. I hope one day you will too."

Fine flicked a dismissive glance at both of them. "Not that it matters, but the truth is, neither of you had a choice. Each of you serves a different Kryptonian master, that's all."

He flung open the paneled double doors. "Now that that's settled, shall we go?"

His tone held the ring of command. Lex said nothing, but Chloe noted the resentful glare he turned on the construct.

Lex took her elbow, pulling her forward, not too forcefully, through the doors and into a softly-lit, carpeted corridor. More doors, all closed, lined the hallway, and she could read names on some of them as they passed by: "Genetics Lab I;" "Radiation Lab;" "Cryogenics."

She took in everything, while keeping her eyes fixed on the construct's stiff-shouldered, retreating form. As they advanced, her forehead began to pulse with a familiar throbbing pain. A faint light in her mind's eye grew slowly until it dazzled her waking vision. She shut her eyes against the brightness, but the glow remained, like an afterimage of the sun.

The crystal must be somewhere near, Chloe realized. They were getting closer to it with each step.

She stumbled over a fold in the carpet, and jumped as a hand grabbed her arm and pulled her up firmly. "Careful!" She had nearly forgotten that Lex still walked beside her, matching her pace.

Chloe blinked, concentrating on shielding herself from the light, and discovered to her relief that it dimmed somewhat. Her vision cleared enough to see her way ahead. She darted a brief glance at her companion, who focused grimly on Fine's distant form.

Lowering her voice to a whisper, she asked, "There must be something we can do. We can't let him win."

Lex's jaw set in a tight line, but he said nothing.

It was Fine, now several paces ahead, who answered Chloe. "I'm afraid the battle's over. And the General is about to win."

He hadn't even bothered to turn around, Chloe thought, remembering ruefully that the construct's hearing was almost as sensitive as Clark's. She rubbed her aching forehead wearily, sighing, before a sudden realization stopped her in her tracks.

Clark could hear her anywhere. Even here.

At Lex's insistent tugging, she moved forward, considering this idea hopefully. _All I have to do is keep talking_, she told herself. _Clark will find me sooner or later_.

Then another, more depressing, thought struck her. _What if this is a trap for Clark?_ She hadn't seen any Kryptonite, but then, she didn't know where they were going, either.

Keeping her face carefully expressionless, she watched Fine open a steel-reinforced door at the end of the corridor marked, "Authorized Personnel Only." He gestured for the two of them to enter and as the door shut behind them, he touched a keypad on the wall. A series of clicks engaged the door's lock mechanism.

Chloe's eyes swept the room expectantly, but all she saw was a small, sparsely-furnished cream-colored room fitted with a desk, a long mahogany credenza, and a bookcase. A Table of Periodic Elements decorated one wall. On the desk were papers, a few pens, and Lex's signature purple Fujitsu laptop. The table held a few books and nothing else of interest.

Her gaze returned to Fine, and stopped short. From his jacket pocket, Fine was pulling out a long, sharp, knife. Made of green Kryptonite.

She gasped involuntarily, then closed her mouth firmly. _There goes our best option_, she reflected, fighting a surge of hopelessness. Calling for Clark was out, at least for now.

"Vessel," Fine ordered. "Bring out the Element."

Wordlessly Lex walked over to the bookcase, shoved aside a few geology treatises, and entered a combination on the safe hidden behind them. He extracted a small black velvet box, and Chloe stared in frozen fascination.

Through the box, as if it were invisible, she saw what appeared to be a long, slender, faceted diamond. In the darkness of its case, it glowed from within, and Chloe thought she could see patterns moving inside it. Everything else around her faded, even the throbbing in her head. She couldn't look away from the endless dance of colors and shapes. Time seemed to stand still.

A sudden flash of movement broke the spell. Lex, in one lightning-quick motion, had seized the crystal and lunged toward Fine, thrusting the shimmering gem close to Fine's chest. The construct, reacting even more quickly, jumped back and narrowed gleaming eyes in Lex's direction.

Chloe watched in horror as Lex froze in mid-lunge, still as a statue except for his eyes. "That was very foolish, Vessel," hissed Fine. "Did you forget so soon that you're under my control? Or did you think your own primitive will was a match for mine? I would keep you like this, but I need to turn my attention to higher matters."

He glanced at the gem sparkling in Lex's motionless hand and met the billionaire's wide gray stare. "Another similar attempt, and your staff will suffer the consequences. Do I make myself clear?"

Chloe shivered sympathetically as Lex's mouth struggled to form words. When he finally spoke, she could barely make out his soft "yesss."

So this was Fine's hold on Lex, she thought sadly, trying her best to keep the pity she felt from showing in her face. She knew that Lex would never forgive her if he saw it.

At a curt nod from Fine, Lex jerked back to life, and almost instantly recovered his composure. He straightened the lapels of his black coat and put the crystal back in its box, aiming an expression of pure hatred toward the smirking construct.

"I wondered why you needed me to steal this," Lex remarked almost conversationally as he set the gem back on its velvet padding. "It's deadly to you, isn't it? Whatever else he was, this 'Jor-El' clearly was an excellent tactician."

Fine ignored him. "You. Keeper."

He was looking at her. Chloe grimaced, fighting the urge to inform the robot that she had not one, but two, names, and neither of them were "Keeper." Remembering the danger to Clark, she kept her lips tightly pressed together.

She considered the situation. Clark couldn't come without endangering himself. Lex's bid for freedom had failed. And if the crystal self-destructed after Zod re-entered the world through Lex, there would be no hope of ever returning him where he belonged.

It left only one option.

He gestured, brandishing the Kryptonite knife. "Make contact. I'll tell you what to say."

Nodding, she reached out slowly for the gem. Lex, she noticed, was watching anxiously, his face bone-white. Under Fine's hawklike scrutiny, the most she dared do was turn her head briefly, and smile tightly. It would soon be over, for both of them.

She could feel the power thrumming inside the crystal now. As her hand inched forward, it blazed into brilliant life, and another world opened up to her. It was hers to explore, to wonder at, to embrace.

To destroy. Her fingers trembled as they grazed the glittering surface.

"General," Fine intoned, lifting the honed green dagger. "I wait for your return, prepared to do battle against your old enemy. The last son of the House of El will perish by your hand."

**TBC….**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **This was supposed to be the concluding chapter, but Clark had other ideas. So did a certain surprise villain. :)

**Chapter Ten**

Clark's pace was just slow enough to pass for normal as he rushed through the swinging doors into the _Planet_'s basement offices, less than an hour after Chloe's unexpected phone call from Lex. A worried frown creased his forehead at the sight of her unoccupied desk.

His eyes swept the room, quickly passing over two or three busy staffers, until they reached a far corner, where a scrawny figure in jeans and a sweater poked around in a nearby supply cabinet. For a second, Clark stood motionless, watching the young intern neatly—and, apparently, uselessly—straighten and rearrange stacks of notepads and mailing labels. He nodded, as if what he saw satisfied him in some way. Then, with a curiously tight smile, he crossed the office.

"Hey." The freckled boy pulled his head out from a shelf filled with boxes of pens and paper clips. "Have you seen Ms. Lane?"

He was answered by a shrug. The intern grabbed an armful of file folders and headed for the adjoining morgue, balancing the folders against his chest.

A solid wall of plaid stood in his way. "I'll ask again," Clark said softly. "Where is Lois Lane?"

The boy's eyes traveled up Clark's sheer six-foot-plus frame in wide-eyed surprise. "Oh, sorry. You're her boyfriend, right?" He sniffed the air. "Do you work in a barn or something? You smell like hay."

One look at Clark's face, which had darkened into a thundercloud, stopped his grin before it began. "Um—Isn't she upstairs with Ms. Kahn?"

Quickly, as if anxious to escape, he swerved around Clark and carried the folders into the dark file room.

Clark followed close behind. "No, I've already checked. She never showed up there."

The kid shrugged again and turned his back on Clark to pull out a file drawer. "Well, that's funny."

"Yeah it is." Clark's voice had grown dangerously quiet. "And you know what's even funnier?"

His arm shot out. Moving faster than a striking snake, Clark yanked the intern up by his shirt and pinned him to the wall of the file room. "Ms. Kahn told me she never asked to see Lois in the first place," he whispered through clenched teeth.

"Hey!" the kid yelped, squirming in Clark's iron grip. "Let me go! What's wrong with you?"

"I've had a bad feeling all morning because something about last night, about Lana, didn't add up. And then I heard your voice on the phone today, and it finally came to me what it was."

The room's silence was punctuated by the boy's shallow, gasping breaths. "Who's 'Lana'? What are you talking about?" he whined. "Please put me down. You're hurting me."

"Oh? Then why aren't you calling for help?" The intern stared at him with wide, pale eyes, and said nothing.

Clark returned the gaze coldly. "How did Lana know the two of us were in Smallville? How did Lex know? He'd just seen us that morning, here in the city, and there's no way he could have guessed we'd be leaving for my farm." His grip on the boy's shirt tightened. "Someone had to have told them."

The intern's squirming hadn't stopped, but his young face was suddenly watchful.

Clark's voice lowered into a growl. "_You_ told them."

"You're crazy," the intern muttered quietly.

"I don't think so," Clark replied. "I figured it out after hearing your voice on the phone today. It reminded me of something." He scanned the boy's motionless features with cold green fury. "You were the only one here in the newsroom yesterday when we talked about going to Smallville. No one else could have overheard our plans."

"So I decided to check out your so-called 'message' from Kahn. And guess what? It was a lie."

For a moment, the room was absolutely silent. All traces of fear had drained from the intern's face, leaving it completely blank.

"You're part of the ship, part of whatever Milton Fine really is," Clark declared grimly. "You've been spying on us." The intern didn't answer, but his lips began to curl slowly upwards.

Clark grit his teeth and, with one hand, slammed the smirking figure against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. The boy—or whatever he was—didn't even flinch at the impact. "I'll ask you one more time: Where is Lois Lane? And what do you want from her?"

For a moment, the intern just smiled down at his captor. Then he opened his mouth, and a grotesque, impossibly deep chuckle echoed across the room. Clark, stone-faced, continued to hold him against the wall, the knuckles in his fist almost white.

When the boy answered, it was in Fine's clipped tones. "Congratulations, Kal-El. Very logical. You would make a good ally for the General, if you could ever outgrow your foolish affection for this planet's primitive species."

"Where IS she?" Clark roared.

The alien construct, pushed deep into the cracked wall, seemed unimpressed. "Please. This display of emotion is not only shameful, but unconvincing," it remarked. "Why not admit the human girl is no more than a useful tool? Annoyingly useful, in fact. Without her, Jor-El would never have been able to activate the Element, and free you."

The smile on the "intern" no longer resembled anything human. "You see, you and the General are not that different. Don't pretend otherwise."

Clark's eyes narrowed into fiery slits. The construct's own eyes dropped, and its distorted, self-satisfied grin quavered and disappeared. "If you really believe that," Clark said slowly, "then you know as little about me as you do about humans."

Still avoiding his gaze, the robot raised his shoulders in a dismissive shrug. "If you count primitives as friends, then you bring shame to the House of El."

Clark lowered Fine's avatar to the ground, but kept him pressed firmly against the wall. "I'm beginning to understand why Krypton fell to Zod," he remarked grimly. "It doesn't sound like a place I'd want to grow up in."

The thin material of the construct's shirt began to rip as Clark's fingers tightened around it. "And you still haven't told me where Lois is," he added, menacingly. "I'm guessing you used that phony "meeting" with Kahn to get her out of the office somehow."

The construct stared at him wordlessly, pale eyes gleaming.

He glared back in sudden realization. "Of course. You knew how badly she needed a story to show Kahn. So you cooked up that fake meeting to motivate her to go out and find one."

"Then you dangled your carrot. What was it, Fine? It would take something pretty big to get her to run out like that."

"Humans are slaves to their emotions. She was pathetically easy to convince," the construct murmured contemptuously.

Clark shook his head. "You don't know when to stop, do you? I'm no expert on Krypton, but I'm betting that Kryptonians weren't all that different from people on Earth. Zod sure isn't."

The construct's mouth twisted. "Liar," it snarled.

"And don't underestimate Lois." His green eyes caught and held the robot's pale gaze. "She's stronger than you can imagine."

Still pinned against the wall, it smirked again. "Kal-El, your faith in humans is touching, but useless. The girl in question is my prisoner. The only way to free her is to cooperate with me."

Clark, however, was no longer paying attention. He turned his face away and tilted his head, as if listening.

"I can hear her."

The construct's freckled face frowned. "So quickly? That's not possible."

"I can hear her heartbeat. She's alive."

Fine's avatar went very still. "You're linked to her. You've willingly bonded yourself….to a _human_," it whispered in a shocked tone.

Without another word, Clark spun around and disappeared, leaving the young-looking figure slumped against the wall. The construct's eyes sparkled with malice in the dimly lit room.

"He's coming. For his _life-mate_," it spat out into the gloom. "Be prepared." With that, the flesh-and-blood disguise melted into a liquid silver puddle that streamed across the floor and quickly slithered through the crack in the wall.

**TBC...**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** We're close to the conclusion, but after all of Fine/Brainiac's lectures to Clark about Kryptonian superiority, I thought that maybe it would help to know the truth about Clark's home world. So, in this chapter, Chloe takes a virtual tour of Krypton. During which, she discovers a few rather unsettling facts about Zod.

Oh, and for those of you who read my Chlark fic **_Sea Change _**(can't do a link, but it's on this site) may spot a very special friend (or, at least, a distant cousin of that special friend :) ).

**Part Eleven**

The crystal burned like a young star as Chloe's fingers brushed its surface, bathing the lab in blue-white, incandescent light. Across the room, Chloe saw Lex shield his face with his hand, while behind her, Fine shouted instructions that she only half-heard.

It hardly seemed possible that less than an hour ago, she'd been facing a boring morning of filing in the _Daily Planet_ basement. Since then, she'd been lured into a trap and kidnapped; now, she was debating whether to destroy the crystal, and herself in the process, in order to save Clark and the world from General Zod.

All in all, Chloe thought, she'd had better days.

Now that she was face to face with the gem that had haunted her visions, she found that her eyes seemed less affected by its brightness. Motionless, she stared, unblinking, into its depths.

It was like diving into the heart of the sun.

The radiance grew, wrapping around her like a cocoon, forming walls of white fire that seemed to stretch far into the distance. They slipped past her on either side, as if she was traveling along a corridor toward the center of the light. Some distance away, a tiny opening, no more than a dark pinprick, appeared and slowly grew in size.

The room and its occupants had disappeared, although she could still faintly hear Fine calling out to her angrily. He was drowned out by a deeper voice coming from the light surrounding her, speaking strange words that Chloe somehow recognized as a greeting:

_"Welcome, daughter." _

The voice was Jor-El's, of course. Chloe barely had time to wonder how this latest version of the AI knew about her upgraded status before she felt herself being pulled through the opening, leaving behind all thoughts of Level 33.1.

The frozen landscape that stretched out far below her was utterly alien—and yet, somehow, familiar. Against the otherworldly backdrop of a pale green sky, a panorama of windswept ice and snow moved beneath her, washed in the red glow of a swollen setting sun.

It occurred to Chloe that she must be flying. To her surprise, she felt no more afraid than she had yesterday, when she and Clark had floated high above the floor of Jor-El's Fortress.

_That seemed too much like a dream to be real, _she mused. _And this seems too real to be a dream. Go figure._

Far away on the horizon, she peered at a shimmer of rainbow colors and gasped in amazement. There, in the distance, trailing away into the green haze, a range of multicolored mountains sparkled against the otherwise barren landscape like iridescent dragonflies' wings. She changed direction to get a closer view, grinning in delight at the ever-shifting patterns of emerald, topaz, and sapphire that glinted off the peaks of the closest mountains. As the sun lowered behind her, she watched the golden topaz highlights slowly melt into the ruby shades of sunset.

Then, to her frustration, something made her change course, and the mountains receded from view. _Jor-El_, she guessed at once. _I suppose he's got more in mind for me than sight-seeing. _Regretfully, she watched the rainbow glow fade away behind her as she flew over the icy wastes in the opposite direction.

She skimmed close to the ground now, slicing through the cold air straight as an arrow over snowdrifts and deep ravines, towards a sprawling expanse of pinnacles and towers that thrust up from the middle of the plain, as if cut from the surrounding ice. A gust of wintry air blew past, and she felt the tingle of snowflakes melting on her cheeks.

She didn't shiver, even though she was still, apparently, wearing the same short-sleeved summer blouse she'd worn to meet Lex that morning. _More proof that this isn't real_, she thought.

As she swooped closer, she caught the glint of pillars, domes, and angular vaults. This, she realized, was the city of her visions; the city on which Jor-El's Fortress was modeled, and the place Clark had been born. Fascinated, Chloe watched the silver-pink sliver of a large moon appear over the tall spires.

She was on Krypton—and yet, she couldn't be, because it didn't exist anymore. _This must be a memory stored in the crystal, _she mused. _The AI must want me to see this for some reason. But why?_

Unlike Jor-El's deserted hideaway, this city was alive with activity. She glided past bustling streets and crowded moving walkways, darting through narrow canyons formed by gigantic crystalline skyscrapers. They seemed to have grown naturally from the ground far below, and the smallest of them was easily twice the height of LuthorCorp Tower.

Transparent openings of various shapes and sizes dotted the symmetrically-shaped walls. As she flew through the passageways between the buildings, she craned her neck to peer through as many as possible. Here and there she caught glimpses of activity: A child playing with something that looked like a cat, except that it had fangs and blue fur; a classroom where the "professor" emerged from a large 3-D screen, waving a stern finger at a talkative student; a woman painting a wall with light that swelled into music as each new color was added.

Chloe couldn't help wondering if there were any reporters in this world, and if so, what kind of stories they'd cover.

At one point, the walls fell away and she found herself in the middle of a huge open space dominated by a clear glassine dome. The brilliant Technicolor world under the dome contrasted sharply with the soft whites of the rest of the city. Flocks of red-crested birds spread wings tipped in orange and yellow, swooping like flames onto the scarlet and purple boughs of trees in a brightly-lit garden. Lizards with golden scales curled around the trunks of the trees, apparently sunning themselves in the artificial light. In a nearby pool, iridescent flying fish darted in and out of the waves.

Crowds of people wandered the grounds of the garden, but the most popular attraction appeared to be in one part of the pool. A large throng stood along its banks, throwing handfuls of something—snacks, she guessed—at an enormous, black finned fish that swam just under the surface near the water's edge. As it grabbed the treats, its tail waved lazily, while children reached out to stroke its head.

Chloe grinned. Even Kryptonians, apparently, had petting zoos.

The buildings closed in again. Peering far up the side of the nearest tower, she stretched an exploratory hand skyward, and discovered to her delight that she could control her altitude. Soaring over the tower's needle-sharp pinnacle, she emerged into the open air and saw, for the first, and maybe only, time, the skyline of the city of Clark's birth as it had looked before its fall.

Motionless, she surveyed the acres of twinkling spires, each perfect facet of each tower pulsating and thrumming like a living thing. Together, they shone against the darkening sky like a field of fallen stars.

_Clark,_ she promised silently, _if I ever get out of this, I will never call you a small-town boy again._

Except she probably wasn't going to get out of this. It was heart-wrenching to think that the only way to save Clark, and Earth, from Zod, was to destroy Jor-El's crystal, but so far she hadn't come up with any better ideas. And with the crystal gone, the last memory of Clark's home world would disappear forever.

When Chloe looked again over the city, her vision was blurred by tears.

Her unseen tour guide must have gotten impatient, because she started moving again, this time towards a cluster of the tallest towers near what looked like the city's center. In their midst rose a single massive dome, softly glowing in the light from the rising moon. Descending along the graceful lines of the domed building until she reached an opening high in its walls, she hovered, obeying an unspoken command to wait.

A glittering knot of people, dressed like a collection of exotic birds, in colorful robes and form-fitting garments, glided down a ramp to the main walkway below, laughing and talking among themselves. They seemed not to notice their human observer.

She watched the group move with authority and assurance past a line of guards dressed in black, who bowed as they descended. Some of them were crowned with gold or silver bands, and their outfits were decorated with symbols stitched on the shoulder or chest, each one different. The symbols made her think of the emblem for Clark's family, and she wondered if these meant something similar.

Her eyes narrowed as she imagined how Clark would have looked in these form-hugging Kryptonian outfits. The results were exhilarating, until she pictured the beet-red blush that was sure to spread over his face if he ever wore something that revealing in real life. _He'd probably wrap himself in one of these big robes and run for the nearest flannel store_, she thought, grinning.

One woman in the group caught Chloe's eye, perhaps because she was the only one plainly dressed in a simple white one-piece outfit. All the same, she was strikingly beautiful; tall and slender, with shining auburn hair that cascaded softly to her shoulders, held in by a thin silver band.

Unlike the others, she was silent, and her ocean-blue eyes were sad. Looking at her, Chloe had an uncomfortable feeling of déjà vu. It was impossible that she'd seen her before, yet something about this woman was very familiar.

As they reached the walkway, the group closed ranks. Away from the guards, their talk grew softer and more serious.

Chloe's curiosity was almost unbearable now. Moving closer, she strained to listen to their conversation.

"Jhan-Ar, congratulations. Your evidence condemned Zod for the traitor he is," one of the more brightly-dressed men said approvingly to the man leading the group down the walkway.

Chloe hovered nearby, scarcely daring to breathe, even though she knew they couldn't see or hear her. This was her chance to learn more about Zod.

The leader nodded. "His body has been destroyed, his essence is trapped in the Phantom Zone, and without him, his rebellion must die. Even Jor-El must agree with that."

Chloe's ears perked at the mention of Jor-El. A clear, low voice spoke up, and she saw that it belonged to the auburn-haired woman. "But what about the construct Zod created? It escaped, and we have yet to find it."

She fixed her enormous eyes on the leader. "I spoke of this earlier in the Council chamber, but got no real answer."

The first man spoke up again. "Lara, be reasonable. The construct can do nothing now."

"It has the power to destroy our world," she said, eyeing him steadily. "Through the Eradicator."

A woman near Jhan-Ar raised her eyebrows. "We discussed this in the chamber," she answered frostily. "The machine is programmed to preserve Kryptonian ideals. Zod's people wish to protect our culture from contamination, not to destroy it. The Eradicator is no danger to us."

"It could be reprogrammed."

Several people in the group shook their heads and a few frowned in annoyance, but Jhan-Ar was still smiling as he turned and faced her. "Are you saying the rebels would commit suicide? Why?"

Lara's steady gaze met his. "Perhaps not the rebels, but Zod's construct may have other plans. You underestimate Zod's desire for revenge."

A bored-looking man behind her spoke up. "Zod is gone. His most fanatical followers were banished with him into the Zone. And the Council met the rebels' demand to cut off all contact with other races, and destroy all means of transport to other worlds. There is nothing more to fear."

One or two of the group smiled in agreement. Lara ignored them and focused on the leader with a note of urgency in her voice, stretching out one arm to touch his. "Please, Jhan-Ar," she pleaded, "For my child's sake—for the sake of all our children—find this construct before it is too late."

Jhan-Ar put a reassuring hand on the outstretched arm. "As the wife of Jor-El, you are to be commended for your loyalty to him," he said soothingly. "But put your fears to rest. The crisis to our world is over."

Chloe froze in mid-air, staring at the woman in fascination. This was Jor-El's wife. She was almost directly face-to-face with Clark's own mother.

Now that she had a closer look, she could see the resemblance easily, in her face, her voice, her bearing, and especially in the way she defended her views without fear or hesitation.

Clark, she thought sadly, would have been proud of her.

A murmur of general agreement passed through the group at Jhan-Ar's response. He raised his voice genially. "Let's forget the Council meeting, and Zod. All hail Rao!"

Without knowing why, Chloe shuddered slightly. Once again she found herself soaring up and over the city, heading for a tall tower near the dome. She set down at last on a spacious balcony that overlooked the skyline. On the horizon, winking in the distance, she caught a glimpse of the rainbow mountains.

"Welcome, Lois Lane, life-mate of my son, Kal-El."

Chloe tore her eyes away from the mountains, and froze.

In front of her stood an older, graver version of Clark, dressed in a silver garment, broad shoulders draped in a white mantle. A silver band circled his forehead, and on his chest, in darker silver, was stitched the familiar crest of the House of El. The soft neutrals of his outfit set off the startling emerald of his eyes.

Next to him stood Lara, stunningly beautiful as before, again wearing simple silver and white. Like her companion, she was looking directly at Chloe.

These couldn't really be Clark's parents, she told herself. And yet, here they stood, and they were waiting for her to speak.

Chloe struggled to find her voice. It seemed like ages since she had used it last.

"H-hello," she stammered. Embarrassed, she tried again. "I mean, I'm honored to meet you. But—excuse me—who are you?"

The woman's eyes brightened in response. "We guard the memories of Jor-El and Lara, and all other knowledge contained in this crystal," she said simply, in her musical voice. "We are here to instruct Kal-El, and his life-mate."

"Is that why you brought me here?" Chloe asked.

Jor-El's AI nodded. "In part. We wished you to understand Kal-El's true heritage. Our people were not the overbearing conquerors that Zod's lies would have you believe."

He lowered his eyes, sighing heavily. "As you have seen, we were simply overconfident. And complacent. When disaster struck, we were unprepared."

Chloe felt a surge of sympathy for Jor-El and his world. "What happened to Krypton?" she whispered, half afraid of the answer.

Lara answered. "A band of zealots, led by the former General Zod, protested our efforts to study other races, claiming that contact with less advanced cultures would defile the "purity" of our race." The word "purity" was filled with disdain. "Zod especially targeted Jor-El's family, who had established a base on Earth."

She smiled faintly. "Of course, it was no coincidence that the House of El, as the most influential family on Krypton, was also the only obstacle between Zod and supreme power. As you heard, the Council did its best to appease Zod's followers, but it wasn't enough. Zod finally rebelled openly."

Chloe thought back to the conversation she'd just overheard. "So the Council arrested Zod and his inner circle, figuring that his other followers would just go away. Only….they didn't, did they?"

"No," Jor-El's AI said sadly. "Neither did Zod's interactive construct. Before the rebellion began, Zod had stolen a device called the Eradicator, and reprogrammed it to, as he claimed, protect the "sanctity" of Kryptonian culture. I suspected from the first that he intended to use it for more violent purposes."

His mouth settled into grim lines. "I believe that, after his capture and imprisonment, his servant, the construct, acting on Zod's orders, altered the Eradicator's programming and used it to destroy our world."

Lara took up the story, her large blue eyes focused on Chloe. "His hatred for us, and his desire for revenge, passed all the bounds of reason. The Council never understood that."

Her eyes closed briefly. "He detonated the device within hours of Zod's detention. As we suspected." She reached out for Jor-El's hand. "We did not expect to save ourselves, but we had only a short time to prepare our son."

Chloe looked down at their linked hands, Jor-El's fingers squeezing his wife's gently. She reminded herself that these were only images of people long dead, but the thought came too late to stop the tears quietly spilling down her cheeks.

"Did anyone besides Clark survive?" she asked, more gruffly than she'd intended. She sniffled slightly, wishing there was such a thing as a virtual Kleenex.

"Zod's interactive construct, of course, escaped, most likely with some of his Kryptonian followers. Beyond that, I have no information," Jor-El's AI told her sadly. "We sent Kal-El to Earth, knowing, from my family's contact, that he would be protected by special powers there. I gave him into the keeping of the son of the Earth man who once befriended me. We rejoice that he has been safe for so long."

The AI images of Jor-El and Lara fell silent. Chloe looked from one to the other, sensing that this wasn't the end of the story. "But?"

Lara looked at her gravely. "You must beware of Zod and his construct."

"I already knew that, and so does Clark." Chloe remembered Fine, waiting in the lab, and her voice took on a desperate edge. "What are you trying to say? Look, I'd love to hear more, but time's pretty short right now, OK? So please tell me. What else do I need to know about Zod?"

Lara and Jor-El exchanged glances, as if debating. At last Jor-El spoke. "Zod intends to destroy not only the House of El, but your people, daughter. Not even as slaves would he consider them acceptable. He and his followers from the Phantom Zone will recreate Earth in the image of his perfect Krypton. If you fail to defeat him, you and all you love will die."

Chloe met Jor-El's gaze. "I'd die anyway, Jor-El. I'd never be a slave of Zod, or of anyone."

His smile was brief, but warm. "I expected no less. But it is important that you understand how deadly he is. At all costs, he must never again be set free."

Chloe swallowed nervously. She'd dreaded this moment. "What if I told you that Zod was trying to use me to do just that, right now?"

Lara's eyes widened, but Jor-El's green eyes turned sharp. Chloe winced, thinking of Clark's accusing stares in times past. "I didn't betray you, Jor-El. But Fine—I mean, Zod's robot, or whatever—is holding me prisoner out there, and he wants me to use this crystal to open Zod's prison."

She took a breath to stop the quaver in her voice. "I came here to destroy the crystal."

Jor-El looked at her. "You, too, my child, will be destroyed. Are you sure?"

She lifted her chin in what she hoped was a brave gesture. "Yes."

Jor-El studied her wordlessly. "Perhaps," he said at last, "there is another way."

**TBC…**


	12. Chapter 12

**A.N.:** After her brief detour to Krypton, Chloe has to figure out a way to stop Brainiac from freeing Zod. Meanwhile, Clark's on his way--unaware that he's heading into a trap. From here on in, I think it's safe to say that the action picks up a lot. :)

**Chapter Twelve**

Chloe blinked at the light, feeling strangely disoriented. She was back in the lab, and Fine stood next to her, shouting in her ear. His fingers dug into her upper arm painfully.

"Keeper!" Fine snarled at her. "Order the Element to open the portal for the General! Why do you delay?"

Apparently, only a minute or two had passed by in the real world while she was on her Magical Mystery Tour inside the crystal. In that short time, Fine's mood had not improved.

"Thanks for the wake-up call," she muttered to him, trying to ignore the viselike grip.

With a guilty start, she pressed her lips together, eyeing the Kryptonite dagger in Fine's other hand nervously. She'd forgotten that her voice would draw Clark here, into deadly danger.

Turning her attention back to the crystal, she silently reviewed the instructions given to her by Jor-El's AI. _I'll do my best, Jor-El._

Her free arm reached out to re-establish contact with the gem. All she needed was a minute or two to give the command the AI had taught her. . . .

A hand shot out to seize her wrist. She whirled to face Fine, who was staring, eyes glazed and motionless, as if listening to an unseen voice. When his eyes refocused, they were riveted on Chloe.

"_Life-mate_?" he ground out with clenched teeth.

Chloe fought a surge of panic. Could Fine read her mind? If so, did he know about Jor-El's plan?

Mouth twisting in disgust, Zod's construct yanked her away from the crystal. "Don't bother playing for time. Kal-El is already on his way here," he told her. Quick as lightning, he pressed the Kryptonite dagger against her throat. "When he arrives, he'll find more than he expects."

She drew a sharp breath as the edge pricked her skin. "Clark knows this is a trap," she lied, breaking her self-imposed silence. How the robot knew that Clark was coming, she had no clue, but she was sure it was true. "Don't underestimate him."

Meanwhile, she reflected grimly, her secret was blown, and unless she could reach the crystal, it looked as though Jor-El's plan was blown with it. This wasn't good.

The construct stared down at her stonily. "I advise you not to waste your breath defending him, human." The point of his dagger tickled her jaw line as he traced the line of her chin almost caressingly. "I should kill you now, but it would be wasteful. You may yet be useful to the General."

There was a sharp intake of breath from across the room. "Killing her won't help you," Lex whispered unsteadily.

Her eye on the dagger, Chloe turned her head as far as possible, her gaze darting to the slim figure in black in the far corner of the room. "He's a killing machine, Lex," she answered wearily. "He and Zod destroyed their world, and they plan on destroying ours, too."

She turned back to Fine, whose eyes had narrowed dangerously. "Go ahead. Tell him."

"What do you mean, he destroyed their world?" Lex glanced quickly from Chloe to the construct, squinting against the gem's radiance. "How could she know that?"

Fine didn't take his eyes off Chloe's face. "She's become one with the Element," he said slowly. "Already she knows too much."

The construct lifted his head to focus on the pale figure poised warily at the other end of the lab. "As for your own world, Vessel, it's already destroyed. This woman is the proof of that."

Lex peered curiously through the bright light at Chloe as she squirmed uncomfortably in the robot's viselike grip. "Is there something I'm missing here?" he asked mildly.

His obvious confusion seemed to amuse the robot. "I'm disappointed in you, Vessel. Surely you must realize the implications."

Lex didn't respond, clearly refusing to take the bait. The construct smiled. "This female is Kal-El's mate. If Kal-El defeats Zod, her children will become the new ruling class of Earth."

Chloe watched Lex go very still. Her heart sank, as she realized she was in danger of losing her best ally against this maniac machine.

"If not," Fine concluded, "the General will rule. Either way, human history is at an end."

In the blazing light from the gem, Lex's features looked colorless, and as hard as marble.

Chloe swiveled her head to look at him directly, ignoring the sharp edge of the dagger poised at her throat. "Lex, don't believe him. You know Clark would never—"

"I didn't know you had it in you, Lois," the billionaire interrupted coldly. "You've raised treachery to a level that impresses even me."

"Oh come on," she snapped back, too frustrated at Lex now to care about Fine and his death threats. "If Clark wanted to rule, he could've conquered the world a dozen times over by now. Isn't that what you always suspected?" Lex said nothing, but his dark eyes, turned away from the glare, were thoughtful.

"I know he's lied to you," she went on more softly. "But it was only to protect himself. Don't let Zod's pet robot fool you—"

She yelped in pain as the knife pricked her throat, and felt a warm wet trickle slide down her skin. "You're beginning to annoy me, human," he murmured. "You'll have to be taught to show respect."

His fingers squeezed her upper arm so tightly that she felt as though it would break in two at any moment. Waves of white-hot agony shot through her body, so intense that she could barely hear herself screaming.

With a heavy crash, the door to the lab flew open, its steel bolts twisted like pulled taffy. Through the mist of pain that clouded her vision, she could see Clark standing in the gaping hole it left, eyes flashing with anger.

Quick as thought, Fine shoved Chloe across the room with so much force that her feet left the ground. Instinctively, she braced herself for impact, but instead of thick plaster walls, her head landed on something soft and fuzzy, and strong arms pressed her close. She breathed in the scent of fresh cotton.

"Are you OK?" a voice she thought she'd never hear again whispered anxiously, its concerned tone muffled slightly by her flannel cocoon. She nestled further in, surprised by the sudden burst of tears that wet her cheeks and soaked into the plaid cloth of Clark's shirt. He tightened his hold, and Chloe felt soft, soothing fingers stroke her hair.

She met his worried gaze, managing a reassuring smile, then watched in horror as his face took on a sickly hue.

Clark's green-tinged features gave her the warning she needed. Behind him, a streak of brilliant emerald sliced through the air towards his back.

"CLARK! Watch out!"

She launched herself against him, wincing at the soreness of her injured arm. She succeeded in pushing him sideways, but not far enough to avoid the dagger entirely. It grazed his arm before it clattered to the floor near Chloe's feet. With a quick kick, she sent it flying towards the open door.

The robot construct materialized at the door in time to catch it. Clark clutched his wound, gritting his teeth, but sidling towards Chloe protectively as Fine advanced on them both. The closer he came, the brighter the dagger glowed, bathing Clark in its deadly radiance. Already, she noticed worriedly, it had begun to sap his strength; he looked weaker with every passing second.

To her intense relief, Fine halted abruptly when he was still a few feet away from them. "Vessel!" he called in a commanding tone, although his eyes never moved from Clark's face. "That's far enough."

Chloe darted a glance to the corner where she'd last seen Lex, only to discover that he'd moved. His figure, silhouetted against the gem's radiance, had crept much closer to the table holding the crystal. One more step, and he would have been within arm's reach of it. At Fine's words, he froze, facing the three other occupants of the room, the light at his back shrouding his form in darkness.

Clark looked over too, apparently noticing his former friend's presence for the first time. He squinted with weakened eyes at the dark shape. "Lex?"

The billionaire emerged from the glare to reveal steely eyes riveted on Clark. "Hello, Kal-El."

Clark's eyes widened in surprise. "Yes," Lex said, smiling grimly. "I finally know your little secret. When were you planning on telling me, Clark? After you and your mate here founded your dynasty?"

"He called you 'Vessel,'" Clark said slowly. Lex didn't respond, but his mouth pressed into a tight, tense line. "I see," Clark continued in a softer voice, flashing a brief glance at the construct, who stood motionless, clutching the dagger.

Chloe wondered why Fine was waiting to attack. _He's afraid of Clark, even as weak as he is,_ she realized. _He won't start a fight until he's sure he can win._ Surreptitiously, she eyed the crystal at the far end of the room, wondering if she could distract the construct long enough to reach it.

"Fine's trapped you somehow, hasn't he, Lex?" Clark went on. "He wants to use this crystal to bring back Zod, through you."

"An unfortunate necessity, since you were unwilling to serve as the Vessel yourself, Kal-El," Fine interjected.

Clark ignored him, meeting Lex's accusing stare with steady, sad eyes. "I'm sorry," he said simply. "I never wanted to hurt you."

The billionaire's eyes wavered and dropped. It was hard for Chloe to be sure, but she thought she heard a small sigh. When he raised his head a moment later, he seemed years older.

His blue-gray gaze was leveled at Clark. "Then why did you?" he asked bitterly.

The pain in his voice hit Chloe with almost physical force. Clark, who was struggling to stay on his feet as the effects of the Kryptonite grew stronger, looked at Lex regretfully.

Chloe's attention was distracted by Fine, who, she noticed out of the corner of her eye, was moving in on Clark. At once she rushed to block the robot's path. Clark backed away, stumbled, and almost fell.

Lex started forward, eyes wide with alarm.

"Stay where you are, Vessel!" Fine exclaimed coldly. "Remember, the lives of your staff depend on it."

"Let them go, Fine," Clark said in a tired voice. "I'm the one you and Zod want."

The robot in the tailored suit raised a polite eyebrow. "You forget, Kal-El. Zod needs his Vessel. Are you volunteering?"

Fine pursed his lips, regarding Clark with an air of expectant triumph. It was soon deflated when Clark shook his head. "I'll never agree to help that murderer. If I can't beat him, someone else on Earth will."

"Someone on Earth? A human?"

One day, if they ever got out of this, Chloe was going to enjoy smashing that superior grin off the face of this creepy Terminator ripoff. The thought made her smile.

"Ah, Kal-El, I'll almost be sorry to see you go," the construct continued. "You're quite amusing, in a pathetic sort of way. Unfortunately, once the General and his loyal followers are free, there will be no more need for you, or for your precious humans. They will be replaced with a far more worthy species."

Fine's words seemed to energize Clark. With a strangled cry of fury, he launched himself at the robot, his speed obviously taking the construct by surprise. The Kryptonite knife was knocked from the robot's hand, and landed on the floor close to the struggling pair.

While they fought, Chloe ran towards the crystal, but a quick thrust from Fine sent her spinning into the wall. From there, she watched in alarm as the robot landed a direct hit on Clark's jaw.

The prolonged exposure to the deadly rock had sapped Clark's strength almost completely. He collapsed on the floor next to the table, groaning, as Fine retrieved the dagger and knelt over him.

"It is unfortunate that the General won't have the satisfaction of killing you himself," he murmured softly. Slowly, he raised the glowing green knife and aimed it at Clark's chest. "That pleasure," he added, grinning, "will be mine."

The light from the crystal shifted suddenly as a dark shape swooped over Fine. Lex, moving smoothly and with almost Kryptonian speed, had seized the gem and crossed the short space separating him from Fine. Now, like a hawk on the hunt, he struck, pressing the crystal against the back of the construct's neck.

A weird mechanical scream pierced the air. While Chloe looked on in horrified fascination, the construct's features melted into a silvery mass, and the tailored business suit blurred and disappeared, leaving a vaguely humanoid metallic figure.

The creature dropped the Kryptonite onto Clark's chest, flailing wildly at his attacker with arms that had morphed into steel-sharp pincers. Jumping back to escape a deadly jab, Lex tripped, losing hold of the crystal. As he fell backward, his head crashed against the edge of the bookcase, and he slumped to the floor, momentarily stunned.

The robot staggered too, and collapsed a few feet away, just out of reach of Clark's prostrate body, his metallic body dissolving into a hideously deformed mass. Only his arms remained fully formed, jutting out from the molten blob like monstrous lobster claws, snapping viciously in every direction.

Cautiously, Chloe crept forward. One of the pincers darted at her eyes with startling speed, forcing her back to her spot on the opposite side of the lab from Clark and Lex. Clearly, the robot wasn't blind. She could almost feel the force of its hatred as the silvery surface of the blob rippled and grew. It was trying to reform. She didn't have much time.

She searched the floor desperately for the crystal that had fallen from Lex's hand. Her heart sank when she saw where it had landed.

In a maddeningly perfect imitation of every ring Chloe had ever owned, the glittering rock had bounced as far away from her as possible. It lit up a remote corner underneath the table with pure, tantalizing, blue-white radiance.

It was really too much. Chloe almost screamed in frustration.

One look at Clark was enough to turn her frustration into panic. He hadn't moved since the knife had fallen onto him, and the sickly green pallor that covered his face was now spreading across his neck and arms. Bulging black veins crawled down the length of his biceps and forearms.

Suddenly she noticed that the crystal's white light was changing. By degrees, it shaded into cream, then gold, then orange, and finally deepened into a brilliant crimson that seemed to set the lab aflame with its fiery glow. At the same moment, a sharp pain shot through Chloe's head.

In the confusion of the struggle, she'd forgotten that the gem didn't need a command from her to start the destruct sequence. No matter what had triggered it—the Kryptonite, its physical contact with Fine, or something else—she was sure of one thing: The sequence had begun.

_At least that's it for Zod and his plans,_ she mused. _Without the crystal to free him, he's trapped._

And without the crystal, she was dead.

Another knifelike pain hit her, leaving her gasping for breath. She struggled to think clearly. Someone had to save Clark. Somehow, she had to reach him before the destruct sequence finished.

The construct, meanwhile, had reformed partially into its human shape, although its legs were still metallic stubs. The head was the color of liquid mercury, but it was, recognizably, Fine's.

The silvery figure glared at Lex, who was rising shakily from his latest concussion. "Foolish human," the creature snarled in the mock professor's voice, "Did you forget that part of _my _consciousness is inside your mind?"

His clawlike hand glinted blood-red in the light from the crystal as he pointed it at the billionaire. Lex's body stiffened, and his face settled into the same horrifyingly dead stare Chloe had seen once before.

Like a waxwork doll, Lex moved towards the spot where Clark lay. Slowly, Chloe realized Fine's plan, and a chill went down her spine.

Frantically she dove for the knife that lay on Clark's chest, but Lex's arm caught her before she got there. Still expressionless, he grabbed her injured upper arm, squeezing it with such excruciating precision that she nearly blacked out. When he released her, she collapsed where she stood, biting her lip in agony from the fresh torture.

Helpless, she looked on as Lex calmly knelt, scooped up the dagger from Clark's chest, and held it against his former friend's throat. In the crystal's blazing light, his smooth features seemed lit by fire.

Clark's eyelids fluttered open. Breathing in long, ragged gasps, he took in the glowing knife, and raised his eyes.

"You can't do this, Lex," he whispered. "Any more than I could do it to you."

Looking on from across the room, Chloe shook her head. _Don't kid yourself, Clark,_ she thought bleakly. _Lex is probably enjoying this._

She darted an anxious glance at the crystal's deepening red glow. She hoped desperately that whatever happened to it would be loud, and that it would happen soon. If so, there was a chance that it would somehow distract Lex.

She was almost afraid to look back at Clark, but what she saw was completely unexpected.

Lex was hesitating.

"Kill him! Kill him NOW!" shrilled the construct. The billionaire's fist shook as he clutched the dagger, but his hand didn't move. Chloe held her breath.

Clark tried to speak again, his voice so low that Chloe could barely hear him. She leaned forward, angrily shaking away the tears to clear her vision.

"You're stronger than he knows," Clark mouthed to the figure leaning over him. "Don't let him turn you into one of Zod's slaves." He twisted in agony, but his eyes never moved from Lex. The emerald light in their depths was very different from the hideous fluorescent sheen of the Kryptonite dagger.

_Please, Lex, believe him,_ Chloe prayed, trembling. _Just this once._

The following silence seemed to last forever. Then Lex's eyes blinked rapidly and he shivered, like a marble statue coming to life. When he looked again at Clark, the blank stare was gone.

The construct by now was almost fully human in appearance, except for a few silver patches scarring his cheeks. It struggled to rise. "You are mine, Vessel," he hissed through clenched teeth. "Obey."

Beads of sweat glinted in the red light as they trickled down Lex's forehead. "Clark…." he gasped, his tone almost pleading. "Help…."

Clark's eyes brightened, as if he was trying to transfer what strength he had left to his friend. Lex grit his teeth, and, slowly, the dagger lifted from Clark's throat.

Chloe's heart had just resumed beating when Fine stood up, glaring in pure malice at his master's would-be host. "Pointless bravery," he sneered, reaching for the knife.

To Chloe's amazement, Lex, with an obvious effort, straightened and stepped back, grinning at the construct. Then he raised the dagger and, in one quick motion, plunged it into his own shoulder.

Two screams rang out, one all too human, the other an unearthly howl. Both Lex and Fine staggered and fell.

Chloe saw her chance. Taking a deep breath and pushing aside the searing pain in her arm and in her head, she dashed for the crystal. Maybe it wasn't too late to follow Jor-El's instructions after all.

She cupped the gem in her hands, rays of light shooting out from between her fingers like crimson sunbeams. As she did, the pain in her head grew worse; it took all her willpower to concentrate on the words Jor-El's AI had taught her.

Her throat felt too dry to speak. Stubbornly, she swallowed and tried again, her voice gaining strength as she continued:

_"Servant of Zod! By the power of the Council as preserved in this Element, for your crimes I commit you to the world apart known as the Phantom Zone. May Rao be with you."_

Ignoring Fine's outraged shouts, she waited until, out of nowhere, an opening appeared over the construct, widening as it approached. A blinding flash, like lightning, made Chloe blink. When she looked again, there was no trace of Fine.

The gaping hole into nowhere slowly shrank. At the last minute, just before it closed, a silver hand shot through it, making her jump back in alarm. For one second, its fingers reached out in vain for a handhold, and then it was sucked back in. The last thing she heard before the opening disappeared was a faint, strangled yell.

Sighing and swaying slightly, she lowered the crystal and looked around. Lex lay on his back moaning in pain, still clutching the Kryptonite dagger stuck into his right shoulder. Chloe eyed him with concern and even with a little reluctant gratitude. His staff people, she hoped, would find him before long.

Right now, though, her priority was to help Clark. Now that the Kryptonite was out of contact with his body, Clark's color had improved, she noticed. A little more distance, and he would probably recover completely. Using the last of her strength, she dragged him out of the lab and into the carpeted hallway.

By the time she'd reached the corridor, he was already reaching for her hand and smiling. "I love you."

She collapsed weakly on the floor beside him, eyeing the gem in her free hand nervously. His gaze followed hers, and his face darkened.

"I love you too, Clark," she murmured softly. "I'll miss you."

Blackness closed around her.

…………………………

The first thing she noticed when she woke up was the touch of flannel on her cheek. The next was the blast of cold air on her bare arm.

She cracked open an eyelid curiously, wondering if the afterlife could really be this confusing. Clark stared down at her, dark hair framed against a vaulted ceiling of icy pillars, a relieved smile lighting up his face. He held her in his arms.

Chloe decided this must be Heaven.

"Hey there," she murmured, nestling into his hold comfortably, "aren't you the crazy guy who barreled into a room full of Kryptonite just to save me?"

"It was only one little rock," he answered, gathering her closer. "And it was worth it."

She considered lecturing him about proper caution, but the wattage of his grin had amped up to full Kent Charm mode, so she settled for returning it with the biggest smile in her repertoire.

Another blast of cold air made her shiver. She rubbed the arm that wasn't pressed against Clark's shirt to warm it up, and winced at its soreness. The pain shocked her into total recall of recent events.

She looked around and realized that they were standing (well, Clark was standing, anyway) in the middle of the Fortress. "The crystal, Clark! We need to…."

"Shhh," he soothed. "It's OK. It's in my shirt pocket."

Hastily, she dug out the little lump, expecting a blast of crimson flame. Instead, it glimmered white in her hand, its soft shimmer winking at her almost innocently.

"It changed color the minute we got here," Clark explained. "Something in the Fortress must have disarmed it."

They both looked at the hall's central console, where a slender, clear cylinder was rising up. "I guess that's where it goes," Clark said. He looked at Chloe. "Ready?"

She nodded. He set her down, keeping one arm draped around her for warmth, and together they moved cautiously towards the console. Each of them took hold of the crystal, and carefully set it into place on top of the cylinder.

It flared to full power immediately, and once again Chloe found herself surrounded by living walls of white fire, heading towards a portal far in the distance. Except, this time, she was hand in hand with Clark.

She enjoyed seeing the look of dazed wonder in those green eyes when they emerged over the snow-swept plains of Clark's home planet. It was morning now, not sunset. The first red rays of the sun struck rainbow splinters off the jewel-colored mountains on the horizon.

Tugging at his hand, she pulled him in the direction of the mountain range. Her last visit was cut short; maybe now they'd get a chance to explore a little.

She was looking eagerly at the horizon when she felt Clark's hand slip from hers. Pulling up, she swiveled in mid-air, and her jaw dropped.

Clark was dipping and swooping like an acrobat, grinning in delight as if he'd done this all his life. He soared straight up, slicing through a pink-tinged cloud, then went into a nosedive towards the icy wastes below. Against the craggy rocks and snowdrifts, his jeans and red plaid stood out like a beacon.

"Wow," she mouthed at him, grinning. Inwardly, she thought, _He was born for this_.

After a few more dips and swirls, he settled at last into a level glide next to her. But when he took her hand, it was to lead her away from the beautiful mountains. Chloe tugged back in protest, eyeing the horizon longingly.

"C'mon," said her life-mate, gently pulling her in the other direction. "Jor-El wants to talk to us."

"How do you know?" she whispered back, as they glided past familiar landmarks and towards the great city of Clark's birth.

Clark grinned, looking happier than she had ever seen him before. "I just have a feeling," he answered, soaring towards a familiar tall tower near the dome that, Chloe remembered, housed the Council chamber.

She wasn't surprised when they landed on the same balcony as before, the one with a view of her beloved rainbow mountains. There to meet them were the AI images of Jor-El and Lara.

Clark looked from one to the other. Chloe hung back, knowing that this moment was his own.

"Welcome, my son, Kal-El," Jor-El intoned gravely. Lara stood next to him, saying nothing, but holding her son's eyes with her own.

Clark started forward, reaching out to both of them, but his hand passed through his mother's arm as if through a ghost. She stepped back, shaking her head sadly. "We are only images," she whispered, staring at him longingly.

"Lara." Clark's voice was rough with emotion.

His mother's eyes widened. "You remember me?"

He nodded. "It was the first word I spoke when I got to Earth. My mother—my adoptive mother—told me so." Her face lit up, and Chloe's heart melted.

Jor-El spoke. "My son and daughter, I commend both of you for delivering the Element safely to the Fortress. Here it will keep you, and the future of our House, safe."

"What about Zod and Fine—I mean, the interactive construct?" Chloe asked. "They're trapped now, aren't they?" Even to her own ears, her voice sounded far too hopeful.

Jor-El was already shaking his head. "They are sealed, for now, in the Phantom Zone, but it is always possible that another way out of the Zone may be found," he told them. "Remain vigilant! Great men and women must always beware of great enemies."

Chloe's thoughts flew to Lex. She wondered if he would remember any of the events of the last two days. If he did, they were in trouble. Sooner or later, even Clark would agree with that.

"But now," Lara was saying, moving gracefully to a small round table in the middle of the room behind her, "we celebrate a bonding."

On the table two thin white woven bracelets materialized, each elegantly simple in design. At Lara's gesture, Clark and Chloe moved forward hesitantly.

"You must put your joined hands over the bracelets," she explained. As they obeyed, the bracelets fused, then blurred, a mix of colors playing over their joined surface. Finally, they separated, one bracelet a deep ocean blue to match Lara's eyes, and the other tinted with the red of the Krypton sun. Each bracelet bore thin stripes of gold.

"The gold symbolizes the House of El, and it is also Kal-El's namesake," Jor-El told them. "It stands for 'hope.'"

"The bonding is now complete." Jor-El announced, and relaxed into a smile. "May you bring honor to your House, and to your world."

Chloe blinked away tears. "I always cry at weddings," she muttered, feeling embarrassed. Lara nodded in understanding.

"Of course, these bracelets are only shadows," Lara added. "But when you return to your world, the Fortress will provide you with true versions." Her gaze shifted to her son and one slender arm lifted, almost touching his sleeve. "Whenever you need us, we will be here, Kal-El. Our blessings on you both, and on the House of El."

A split-second later, Clark and Chloe stood next to the command console in the Fortress, the crystal still glittering over them like the North Star. When Chloe glanced to the smooth surface of the console, her eyes brightened.

On the table sat two exact replicas of the slender bracelets, one red and one blue.

"OK," Chloe said without preamble. "I'll take the red one."

"Huh?" Clark asked. "Why?"

She tilted her head up at him, smiling suggestively. "I'm told I look ravishing in red."

Clark stared. "Who says that?" he asked quickly. There was a small silence. "Um, besides me, I mean."

She grinned and picked up the blue bracelet. "Shall we? You first." His fingers brushed hers lightly as he lifted his right hand, and the chill in the air seemed to disappear. The glowing hall was hushed, as if waiting to witness this moment. Her grin faded.

She hesitated, wondering how the little band would ever fit over such a large palm, until, to her surprise and delight, the bracelet stretched on its own. Carefully, she slipped it on, and it shrank again to fit loosely around his wrist.

In return, he slipped the red circlet around her own much smaller wrist. "For you," he said, his voice lowering to an intimate whisper. It sent a shiver down her spine, and not from the cold. "Life-mate," he added, with a smile that she knew, as long as they lived, would only be for her.

She looked up at him solemnly. "Clark. I'm sorry."

He frowned, puzzled. "About what?"

"About what happened to your home," she said quietly, reaching up one hand to stroke his cheek. His gaze softened.

"You mean, Krypton?" he asked.

She nodded. "And your parents. They must have been wonderful people, and your planet was an incredible place."

He looked at her gravely. "Yeah, it was, and they were," he said simply. "But I haven't lost my home."

He bent down to kiss her. "You're my home, Lois."

When their lips parted at long last, Chloe smiled. "That reminds me, I need to call my cousin and see if I can borrow her name for a little longer. I may need it for a byline."

She took his arm. "C'mon, we need to get back. I'm suddenly freezing. And I still have a story to report."

"Story?" Clark asked, one amused eyebrow raised. "What story? 'How I Defeated the Alien Menace'?"

"No," she replied, extracting the compact digital camera from her pants pocket. "I mean a _printable _story. One that might actually help me keep my job."

Clark smiled as he scooped her up. She slid the camera back into her pocket and snuggled into his hold, basking, as always, in his warmth. "OK. If I can show you something first."

"Really?" Her eyes slid up to meet his. "Something I haven't seen before?" she added, lowering her voice suggestively.

His answering grin was wicked. "Actually, it's something I just learned."

Before she had time to ask him what he meant, he was tucking her in closer to him. "Get ready for a surprise," he told her with a smile, and took off into the sky.

Chloe held on and whooped with delight, watching the sparkling Arctic glaciers slip away beneath them. Then she rested her head contentedly in the hollow of her life-mate's shoulder.

Something told her this was only the beginning of an incredible ride, for both of them.

**TBC….**


	13. Epilogue

**A.N.: **Finally, the conclusion!

**Epilogue**

The room was large, thickly carpeted and luxurious. Except for the hospital bed set up next to the floor-to-ceiling windows, it might have been a V.I.P. suite in a five-star hotel.

Curled into a brocaded armchair next to the bed, Lana Lang, in a low-cut black blouse and jeans, quietly read a newspaper. An orderly in a white jacket cleared away the remains of lunch from a nearby table and left, closing the door soundlessly after him, while Lana scanned the front page, a worried crease marring her perfect forehead.

A low moan from the bed's occupant made her look up. She jumped to her feet, letting the paper flutter to the floor.

"Lex!" She bent over the pale figure in concern. The patient's features were thin and drawn, and his body seemed lost in the tangle of tubes and wires attached to his arm and chest. One led to an IV drip; another was connected to an ECG monitor, the needle on which jumped as the billionaire's eyelids flew open. He groaned again and struggled to sit up.

"You shouldn't move," she protested softly. "Your wound isn't fully healed."

Lex touched the thick bandage encasing his right shoulder. "It's not so bad. I heal quickly." In spite of the dark shadows circling them, his eyes were sharp and inquisitive as he searched her face. "How long have I been unconscious?"

She relaxed a little, smiling. "Not so long this time. Only a few days. But Doctor Loeb said if you're going to make this a habit, you should consider buying your own hospital."

"Not my investment of choice," he commented dryly.

His gaze wandered over to a marble-topped pedestal in one corner of the room, which was barely wide enough to support a massive bouquet in a golden vase. "From you, my dear?"

Her smile twisted. "No, it's from Lionel. He sends his best wishes. He said he's sorry he's too busy running LuthorCorp to spend much time here with you."

"Dear old Dad," Lex remarked. "He'll be disappointed to learn I've rejoined the land of the living."

"Lex, what happened? Who stabbed you?" The words rushed out of Lana's mouth as if she'd kept them bottled up too long.

His face darkened and he looked away without answering. She gulped, then added, in a low, hesitant voice, "Was it Clark?"

The look he turned on her was so piercing that she actually stepped back. "Who told you that?" he snapped.

"You did, Lex," she answered soothingly. He raised a surprised eyebrow. "You were talking in your sleep. I couldn't make out a lot of the words, but you kept calling Clark's name."

She hesitated again. "Do you remember what happened?"

The room was completely silent for a full minute. Lex closed his eyes. "No."

Lana sighed. "The police took the weapon as evidence. It was a knife made of meteor rock. And the only fingerprints they found on it were yours."

Lex's mouth pressed into a tight line, and one corner twitched upward. "Interesting mystery."

His eyes slid over to meet his girlfriend's worried gaze. "I'm sure it's just a random attacker, Lana. Obviously, my security team needs to up their game." He paused. "Speaking of which, would you mind calling in my chief right now? I assume he's outside this room."

She straightened, nodding. "Oh, and here's something you should see," she said, bending down to retrieve her copy of that morning's _Daily Planet_. "It's on Page One." Her eyes flashed angrily. "You won't like it, Lex."

He spread open the paper as she exited, and stared at the lead story. In seventy-two point bold type, the headline read, "LUTHORCORP HIDES UNLICENSED RESEARCH LAB." Underneath was a picture of Level 33.1's huge central hall, with the caption, "Fifteen-story facility uncovered in LuthorCorp Tower." Another showed the "secret elevator access" to the lab.

His eyes dropped to the byline: "By Lois Lane, staff reporter of the _Daily_ _Planet_."

Slowly, Lex crushed the page into a ball and squeezed it in his tightly clenched fist.

"Welcome to the war, Lois," he muttered. "I promise you the next victory won't be so easy."

He turned to gaze out the windows at the city skyline. "You and _Kal-El_ don't rule the world yet."

……………………………

Over the phone, the sergeant's dry voice grated like a piece of sandpaper. "I'm sorry, Ms. Lane. Ranger boot camp recruits are incommunicado until they graduate."

Chloe refrained from mentioning that this particular "incommunicado" recruit had managed somehow to send her an email just a few days earlier. Frustrated, she looked up from her desk at Clark in search of moral support. He shrugged unhelpfully.

Wrinkling her nose at him, she tried again. "Please, sir. I really do need to talk to my cousin. It's, um…."

She glanced nervously at her copy of the morning edition of the _Planet_, folded to show her Page One story. With her cousin's name on the byline. "It's vital."

"What's the recruit's name?" the voice rapped out.

"Private Sullivan," she replied quickly, with renewed hope.

The line hummed for a minute. "Oh."

Chloe's eyebrows shot up. Clearly, Army life hadn't changed her cousin's personality very much.

"Anything wrong?" she asked, half afraid of the answer.

"No, not at all. She's doing quite well, in fact. But right now she's in the infirmary."

Chloe flashed another glance at Clark, who frowned. Remembering his history with her cousin, she hoped it was because he was concerned.

"I'm told she'll be fine," the sergeant was saying, "However, sick recruits are entitled to one phone call, and if she's willing to talk to you, I'll put you through."

A minute later, her cousin's cheerful voice boomed into her ear. "Hey, how's my favorite cousin? Written any good stories lately?"

Chloe cringed. "You know?"

"The PX carries the _Planet_. Don't worry, I loved it. Go get 'em, Tiger!"

Chloe did some quick thinking. "You know, you don't really sound very sick," she remarked suspiciously.

The smug response confirmed her theory. "Only way I could think of to get in touch with you. Looks like you beat me to it, though."

Her voice lowered to a hush. Chloe had never heard her cousin speak so softly. "I need to ask another favor."

Alarm bells rang instantly in Chloe's head. "What kind of favor?"

Her cousin chuckled. "One I think you'll like. Listen…."

When Chloe hung up, she knew that a silly ear-to-ear grin was plastered across her face, and she didn't care. She looked at Clark and saw that his expression mirrored her own.

"Sounds like she's setting that place on fire," he remarked. "Top recruit in her unit? Good for her." There was a note of pride in his voice.

A weight Chloe hadn't known existed had been lifted from her heart. The byline on today's front page really belonged to her now. "She said that she's finally made a name for herself, and now she wants to keep it. I'm happy for her."

"I'm happy too." Clark smiled. "And I've got to admit, I'm already used to calling you 'Lois.'" He curled his fingers around her hand. "You don't mind, do you?"

"No," she said, glancing again at her byline in the _Planet_. "It's kinda grown on me." _By Lois Lane_, she mulled. Yes, it had a ring to it.

Clark leaned over the desk to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Pleased to meet you, Ms. Lane."

He drew back, examining her with such an appraising eye that she crossed her arms and shot him a look. "What?"

As always, he disarmed her with his smile. "I was just thinking, I've changed my mind about your hair." He reached out to touch a stray brunette curl. "It suits you." He hesitated. "Of course, if you'd rather change back, that's fine too."

Her answering grin was mischievous. She'd been looking forward to this moment. "I've been keeping a secret from you, Clark."

Clark cocked his head. "Only one?" he retorted.

She arched her brows in mock injured dignity. "Very funny. Do you want to know what it is or not?"

No one, she thought, could look quite as loveable as Clark when he put on those puppy-dog eyes. Maybe it was another power of his. "Please?" he implored.

"This is my real hair color," she announced, shaking her dark hair into a cloud. "Surprise."

She bit back a laugh at his blank stare. "I warned you."

"It's beautiful," he said warmly. "And so are you."

She smiled into his eyes, knowing that she would never get tired of hearing that, not from Clark. They shared a long, blissful moment, before she remembered they were in a busy office, and they were beginning to attract attention from passing staffers. She looked down at her camera, which was perched on a messy pile of file folders, and picked it up, laughing.

"Aw," she drawled with mock modesty, waggling it in front of Clark's face, "I just photograph well."

The grin was back, brighter than ever. "I saw that movie too," he informed her in a superior tone.

"_Philadelphia Story_? I know, I was there, I heard you snoring." She put the camera back on her desk and looked up. "Jimmy Stewart played a reporter in that movie, remember? I hoped it might inspire you."

"I have all the inspiration I need right here." He shrugged, smiling. "I still have a long way to go, though."

"You'll make it," she told him, knowing that he would. "Heroes never give up."

"I know," he said, gazing down on her admiringly. "You taught me that."

In the middle of the bustling _Planet_ staff room, Clark raised Lois to her feet, took her in his arms, and kissed her.

"Journalism has its rewards," Lois whispered huskily. "As you'll find out."

**THE END**

I hope you enjoyed my take on Chlois! Thanks for reading, and of course, feedback's welcome:)


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